LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


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THE 


FALL  OF  NEW  FRANCE 

1755-1760 


GERALD   E.    HART 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  SOCIETY  FOR  HISTORICAL  STUDIES,  MONTREAL,  PAST  VICE-PRESIDENT  AND 
LIFE  MEMBER  OF  THE  NUMISMATIC  AND  ANTIQUARIAN  SOCIETY,  MONTREAL,  ETC. 


WITH  PORTRAITS  AND  VIEWS  IN  ARTOTYPE 


Quis  nescit  primam  esse  historise  legem,  ne  quid  falsi  dicere  audeat ; 
deinde  ne  quid  veri  non  audeat.— Cic.  de  Orat.  Lib.  II. 


MONTREAL  :          W.  DRYSDALE  &  CO 
TORONTO  :  R.  W.  DOUGLAS  &  CO 

NEW  YORK  :          G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

1888 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Parliament  of  Canada,  in  the  year  1888, 
by  GERALD  E.  HART,  in  the  Office  of  the  Minister  of  Agriculture. 


COPYRIGHT  BY 
G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS,  1888. 


PRINTED  BY  GAZETTE   PRINTING   COMPANY,   MONTREAL. 


TO 

JOHN  KEADE,  ESQ.,  F.E.S.C., 

PAST   PEESIDENT, 

AND  THE  MEMBERS  OF    THE    SOCIETY    FOE  HISTORICAL 

STUDIES,    MONTREAL,    THIS    MONOGRAPH 

IS  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED  BY 

THE  AUTHOR. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 


The  past  history  of  Canada  from  a  provincial 
aspect  is  replete  with  interesting  episodes  of  adven 
ture,  discovery,  conquest — religious  and  political — 
and  war  by  sea  and  land,  which  have  ever  been 
the  subject  of  polemical  discussions.  The  Society  for 
Historical  Studies,  young  as  it  is,  has  not  been  slow 
to  elucidate  many  events  which  have  been  so  fruitful 
of  interest  to  all  of  us  and  the  community  at  large.  In 
a  heterogeneous  population  such  as  that  forming  the 
present  Dominion  of  Canada,  it  is  not  surprising  that 
our  history  has  been  written  from  an  uncosmopolitan 
point  of  view,  pandering  to  national  prejudices.  It 
is  with  gratification,  therefore,  that  we  see  this  Society 
rising  above  selfish  views,  delving  to  the  founda 
tion  of  history  and  presenting  it  in  conformity  with 


VI  Introductory  Note. 

Cicero's  injunction  on  the  title  page  hereof,  as  it 
should  be,  free  from  all  bias  and  consequences, 
having  truth  and  fact  for  its  basis.  The  present 
pages  form  the  subject  of  a  paper  read  before  one  of 
the  Sessions  of  the  Society,  which  was  deemed 
worthy  of  more  extended  use  and  publicity.  It  is 
therefore  offered,  in  the  hope  that  it  will  merely 
be  the  forerunner  of  many  others  worthy  of  greater 
preservation,  which  it  has  been  my  good  province 
to  hear  read  at  its  Sessions  and  which,  properly 
collated  and  edited,  will  form  together  a  valuable 
history  of  the  Dominion. 

As  the  eye  is  the  window  of  the  soul,  treating  it 
likewise  as  the  avenue  to  the  mind,  I  have  added 
illustrations  of  the  leading  actors  (or  such  of  them  as 
are  obtainable)  and  principal  cities,  from  originals  of 
the  time,  which  generous  possessors  have  largely 
enabled  me  to  contribute.  Original  portraits  and 
views  are  more  difficult  and  costly  to  obtain  than 
the  public  are  probably  aware  of ;  the  few 
examples  now  remaining  are  either  in  inaccessible 


Introductory  Note.  Vll 

places  or  equally  so  in  the  hands  of  collectors,  who  do 
not  desire  to  see  them  reproduced.  It  is  a  pleasure 
therefore  to  me  thus  publicly  to  acknowledge  the 
spontaneous  and  generous  offerings  I  received  from 
Mr.  Robert  Jenkins,  Kosedale,  Toronto ;  Mr.  Lawrence 
Heyden,  Toronto,  the  owner  of  the  valuable  letter 
from  Wolfe  herein  produced  ;  Mr.  Justin  Winsor, 
Harvard  University ;  Mr.  John  Horn,  Montreal, 
some  of  whose  originals  as  well  as  autograph  signa 
tures  from  rare  documents  or  letters  in  fac-simile, 
adorn  these  pages. 

a.  E.  H. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

1.  Major  General  Wolfe;s  Letter,  1759 Frontispiece 

2.  The  Hon.  Vice- Admiral  Boscawen 39 

3.  Lieutenant  Colonel  John  Winslow 44 

4.  Expulsion  Medal 49 

5.  Fac-simile  from  Me"dailles  Louis-le-Grand 50 

6.  Madame  La  Marquise  de  Pompadour 65 

7.  Lieut-General  Marquis  of  Montcalm 67 

8.  Colonel  Bougainville,  A.D.C 96 

9.  Quebec  in  1759 97 

10.  Major  General  James  Wolfe 98 

11.  Vice- Admiral  Sir  Charles  Saunders 99 

12.  Battle  of  Montmorenci,  1759 103 

13.  The  Hon.  Brigadier-General  Robert  Monckton 104 

14.  Quebec  after  the  Bombardment,  1759 113 

15.  The  Hon.  Brigadier-General  George  Townshend 114 

16.  Captain  Hugh  Palliser,  K.N 115 

17.  Wolfe's  Monument,  Westminster  Abbey 137 

18.  The  Hon.  Brigadier-General  James  Murray,  First  Governor- 

General  of  Quebec 138 

19.  Chevalier  deLevis 140 

20.  Major  General  Jeffery  Amherst 143 

21.  Montreal  in  1760 147 

22.  Brigadier  General  Thomas  Gage,  Governor  of  Montreal, 

1760 151 

Biographical  sketches  and  descriptions  appended  at  end  of  narrative. 


"  One  voice,  one  people,  one  in  heart 
And  soul,  and  feeling,  and  desire ! 
Ee-light  the  smouldering  martial  fire, 
Sound  the  mute  trumpet,  strike  the  lyre, 
The  hero  deed  can  not  expire, 
The  dead  still  play  their  part. 

Raise  high  the  monumental  stone ! 
A  nation's  fealty  is  theirs, 
And  we  are  the  rejoicing  heirs, 
The  honored  sons  of  sires  whose  cares 
We  take  upon  us  unawares, 
As  freely  as  our  own. 

We  boast  not  of  the  victory, 

But  render  homage,  deep  and  just, 
To  his — to  their — immortal  dust, 
Who  proved  so  worthy  of  their  trust 
No  lofty  pile  nor  sculptured  bust 
Can  herald  their  degree." 

SANGSTBE. 


fklt  0f 


1754-1760. 


A  retrospective  glance  at  the  colonization  period 
of  the  history  of  North  America  will  show  us  that 
the  country  was  claimed,  in  the  first  half  of  the  l^th 
century,  by  the  Spaniards  on  the  south,  closely 
bordered  on  the  north  by  the  doubtful  claim  of  the 
French  to  the  Louisiana  country,  which  had  not  then 
been  named  ;  the  English,  in  their  neighboring  colony 
of  Virginia,  already  well-established  ;  the  Dutch  New 
Netherlands  adjoining  them  on  the  north-east  ;  New 
England  following  to  the  further  north-east,  with  a 
small  strip  of  territory  and  coast-line  ;  New  France, 
the  rest  of  the  country  to  the  North  Pole. 

We  have  thus  all  the  great  Christian  nations  of 
the  world  colonizing  and  taking  possession  of  the 


2  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

beautiful  continent  of  North  America,  each  outvie- 
ing  the  other  in  their  vain  effort  to  establish  a  reli 
gious  hierarchy,  according  to  their  different  tenets, 
in  a  land  which  knew  not  the  Cross,  but  which 
opened  to  them  a  prospect  of  peace  they  could  not 
enjoy  in  their  own  homes. 

While  commercial  enterprise  was  the  main  factor 
in  establishing  these  colonies,  the  propagation  of  the 
Gospel  and  the  advancement  of  the  divine  glory, 
"  by  bringing*  the  Indians  and  savages  resident  in 
"  these  parts  to  human  civility  and  a  settled  and 
"  quiet  government,"  were  the  chief  objects  to  be 
attained. * 

Vexilla  Regis  prodeunt ; 
Fulget  crucis  mysterium. 

The  unfortunate  divergent  opinions  as  to  the 
mode  in  which  Christianity  should  be  worshipped, 

1  The  Charter  of  the  One  Hundred  Associates,  granted  on  the 
29th  April,  1627,  by  King  Louis  XIII,  read :  "  For  the  primary  pur- 
"  pose  of  converting  the  Indians  to  the  Catholic  Failh,"  and  "  for 
"  the  purpose  of  obtaining  for  his  Majesty's  Subjects  new  commer- 
"  cial  advantages,  derivable  from  a  better  management  of  the  fur 
"  trade." — Faillon  Histoire  de  la  Colonie  Francaise  en  Canada,  p.  126 
et  seq. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  3 

were  now  transplanted  from  the  Old  to  the  New  soil. 
The  Spaniard,  with  his  ultramontane  views,  more 
Catholic  than  the  most  exacting  Eoman  ;  the  Nor 
man  and  Breton  peasant,  with  his  mild  and  sweet 
submission  to  the  doctrines  of  the  parental  Church 
of  Rome,  under  the  Order  of  St.  Francis,  to  be  later 
on  exchanged  for  that  of  the  more  turbulent  and 
despotic  control  of  Loyola ;  the  direct  opposing  faction 
of  the  Virginian,  who  had  left  his  home,  bringing 
with  him  a  charter,  in  which  it  was  a  special  duty  that 
"  the  true  word  and  service  of  G-od,  according  to  the 
"  rites  and  services  of  the  Church  of  England,  should 
"  be  preached,  planted  and  be  used  in  the  Colonies 
"  and  among  the  neighboring  savages  ;m  the  Puri 
tan  exile,  in  his  sacerdotal  oligarchy,  in  which  "no 
"  man  shall  be  admitted  to  the  freedom  of  this  body 
"  politic,  but  such  as  are  members  of  some  of  the 
"  Churches  within  its  precincts ;"  and  the  New 
Netherlander,  acting  under  the  parent  G-overn- 
ment  of  the  States-General  of  Holland,  whose  mis 
sion  was  "peace  and  amity,  without  Church,  that 
"  everyone  should  enjoy  the  free  exercise  of  their 

1  James  the  First,  November  20,  1606,  Instructions  for   the 
Government  of  Virginia. 


A  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

"  religion  within  their  own  houses  ;"  x  were  now  the 
doctrines  to  be  established  and  enforced  within  their 
usurper's  rights  of  territory  in  America,  and  extended 
to  the  natives  thereof. 

Each  colony,  under  political  allegiance  to  the 
parent  Government,  was  subservient  to  the  fate  of 
the  nation  as  it  became  embroiled  in  European  con 
troversies.  Thus,  by  a  series  of  successive  wars,  the 
fate  of  several  of  these  American  possessions  was 
like  a  kaleidoscopic  view — one  day  French,  the  next 
English ;  followed  by  an  occasional  victory  for  the 
Spaniard  and  the  Hollander ! 

All  these  facts  have  been  dwelt  upon,  in  detail,  in 
the  very  interesting  series  of  consecutive  papers  read 
this  session.  I  will,  therefore,  merely  point  out  the 
state  of  the  map  of  America  at  the  period  I  am 
desired  to  lay  bare  before  you.  We  have  the  Spa 
niards  driven  to  the  mountainous  region  of  Mexico, 
their  occupation  of  Florida  being  merely  nominal. 
The  Hollander  absorbed  by  England,  which  latter 
claimed  the  entire  coast-line  of  the  Atlantic  between 
latitudes  28°  50'  and  62°  north,  with  boundary  to  the 
west  by  the  water-line  of  the  Mississippi  Eiver, 

1  Annals  of  North  America  (Howland),  page  101. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  ^ 

north-west  the  Lakes  and  the  Eiver  St.  Lawrence ; 
running  to  the  east  as  far  as  the  Eiver  Bustard,  or 
St.  John ;  thence  north,  obliquely,  in  longitude  62°, 
she  claimed  Labrador,  or  New  Britain,  and  the  Hud 
son  Bay  Territory  to  the  Pole.  The  French,  in  their 
formerly  majestic  Province  of  New  France,  absorb 
ing  three-fourths  of  the  whole  continent,  were  now 
confined  to  the  narrow  strip  of  land  lying  between 
what  was  known  as  the  Height  of  Land,  or  Hills, 
dividing  the  water-shed  between  the  Hudson  Bay 
and  the  St.  Lawrence  and  having,  as  its  southern 
most  boundary,  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  Lakes,  and 
south-easterly  the  Mississippi  to  the  G-ulf  of  Mexico. 
This  division,  however,  while  laid  down  on  the 
French  maps,  was  never  formally  accepted  by  the 
Canadians  or  the  French  Government.  They 
claimed  the  English  western  boundary  to  be  the 
Alleghany  ridge  of  mountains  and  not  the  Missis 
sippi  Eiver,  and  in  this  intervening  valley  France 
planted,  built  and  maintained  forts  of  more  or  less 
strength.  This  disputed  territory,  a  land  of  inex 
haustible  wealth  of  lumber  and  minerals,  teeming 
with  the  richest  of  fur  bearing  animals,  was  not 
in  the  actual  possession  by  occupation  of  either 


6  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

contestants.  The  English  while  claiming  it,  had  not 
yet  extended  beyond  the  confines  of  the  coast-line  of 
the  Alleghany  chain.  A  few  missionaries  of  the 
Moravian  or  United  Brethren  sect,  avowing  tributary 
allegiance  to  the  Virginian  Government,  had  estab 
lished  posts  for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians,  chiefly 
in  the  Pennsylvania  district  among  the  Delawares  ; 
outside  of  them,  the  French  traders  alone  were  met 
with  in  their  honorable  traffic  with  the  natives,  for 
which  they  were  always  distinguished,  in  sad 
contradistinction  to  the  practices  of  the  Provincials. 
England  deemed  it  incredible  that  France  would 
lay  claim,  by  right  of  La  Salle's  discovery  of  16^4, 
to  this  large  interior,  commonly  known  as  the  Five 
Nations  country ;  for  the  English  were  determined 
to  make  good  the  pretensions  they  had  always  main 
tained  (perhaps  without  foundation)  of  a  prior  dis 
covery  by  Wood  in  1654,  and  by  Bolt  in  1670.  This 
claim  is  to  some  extent  recognized  by  the  fifteenth 
clause  of  the  treaty  of  peace  at  Utrecht.1  It  is  said 

1  Section  XV.,  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  11  April,  1713:— "The  subjects 
"  of  France  inhabiting  Canada,  and  others,  shall  hereafter  give  no 
"  hindrance  or  molestation  to  the  five  nations  or  cantons  of  Indians 
"  subject  to  the  Dominion  of  Great  Britain,  nor  to  the  other  natives 
"  of  America,  who  are  friends  to  the  same.  In  like  manner  the 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  7 

that  it  was  only  in  1742  that  the  country  west  of  the 
mountains  was  occupied  by  the  first  Englishman 
who  had  ever  wandered  beyond  the  great  Appala 
chian  chain.  This  was  John  Howard,  of  Virginia, 
who  was  closely  followed  by  Conrad  Weiser  and  the 
Moravian  missionaries,  who  established  permanent 
posts.1 

The  French  had  unquestionably  approached  nearer 
an  occupation  by  erecting  trading  posts  and  had  had 
extensive  dealings  with  the  natives  for  thirty  years. 
This  was  followed,  in  1*749,  by  France  sending  an 
armed  expedition  under  De  Celeron  to  take  official  pos 
session  of  the  disputed  territory,  by  affixing  leaden 

"  subjects  of  Great  Britain  shall  behave  themselves  peaceably 
"  towards  the  Americans,  who  are  subjects  or  friends  of  France; 
'  and  on  both  sides  they  shall  enjoy  full  liberty  of  going  and 
1  coming  on  account  of  trade.  As  also  the  natives  of  those  coun- 
'  tries  shall,  with  the  same  liberty,  resort,  as  they  please,  to  the 
'  British  and  French  colonies,  for  promoting  trade  on  one  side,  and 
'  the  other,  without  any  molestation  or  hindrance,  either  on  the  part 
'  of  the  British  subjects,  or  of  the  French.  But  it  is  to  be  exactly  and 
'  distinctly  settled  by  commissaries,  who  are,  and  who  ought  to  be 
'  accounted  the  subjects  and  friends  of  Britain  or  of  France." 

1  It  is  true,  prior  to  this,  in  1714,  immediately  after  the  Peace  of 
Utrecht,  Col-  Alexander  Spotswood,  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Virgi 
nia,  personally  and  with  indefatigable  labor,  made  the  first  certain 
discovery  of  a  passage  over  the  Appalachian  Mountains,  but  nothing 
further  came  of  it. 


8  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

plates  at  prominent  localities,  under  the  orders  of  De 
la  G-allissoniere,  the  Yiceroy  of  Canada  and  New 
France,  to  oppose  the  cession  made  by  England  to 
the  Ohio  Company  hereafter  mentioned. 

The  territory  in  question  was  very  fully  occupied 
by  the  Indian  races,  who  had  their  villages  estab 
lished  ;  their  tribal  hunting-grounds  well  denned ; 
with  council  fires  burning  at  Shamokin,  the  capital  of 
the  Delaware  country,  and  Onondago,  that  of  the  Iro- 
quois  ;  where  they  discussed,  at  periodical  intervals, 
their  common  foe — the  white  man.  Here  overtures 
were  made  by  La  Joncaire-Chabert  for  the  French — 
William  Johnson  for  the  English — accompanied  with 
liberal  presents,  to  obtain  their  powerful  assistance 
in  attacks  upon  Canada  or  the  New  England  colo 
nies,  as  the  case  might  be.  Well  may  they  have 
been  puzzled  as  to  which  cause  they  should  espouse, 
for  both  were  their  common  enemy  in  driving  them 
from  the  soil  of  their  forefathers  ;  the  game  upon 
which  they  subsisted  was  rapidly  receding  before 
the  encroachments  of  civilization. 

The  G-ospel  had  been  preached  to  these  different 
tribes  by  most  zealous  Jesuit  missionaries  for  over  a 
century,  in  the  interests  of  France ;  and  by  Moravian 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  0 

and  other  missionaries  on  the  English  behalf,  with 
out  making  much  progress,  as  the  Indian  of  that  day 
was  not  a  creature  to  be  influenced  by  religion  to 
any  appreciable  degree,  the  chase  and  the  battle-axe 
being  the  objects  alone  for  which  he  lived.  While 
not  so  effective  in  establishing  the  Catholic  worship 
in  their  hearts  ;  the  French, — by  their  congenial 
nature  for  hunting,  honest  traffic,  and  a  dauntless 
courage  for  which  their  officers  were  most  feared 
and  beloved — were  more  successful  in  gaining  over 
the  friendship  and  powerful  assistance  of  these  tribes 
in  the  war  which  was  now  about  to  commence. 

The  Iroquois,  through  their  eloquent  Mohawk 
chief,  Hendrick,  responded  to  the  call  of  the  Eng 
lish,  at  a  conference  with  Col.  William  Johnson,  in 
the  following  terms  : — "  We  don't  know  what  you 
"  Christians,  English  and  French,  intend.  We  are 
"  so  hemmed  in  by  you  both,  that  we  have  hardly  a 
"  hunting  place  left.  In  a  little  while,  if  we  find  a 
"  bear  in  a  tree,  there  will  immediately  appear  an 
"  owner  of  the  land  to  claim  the  property  and 
"  hinder  us  from  killing  it,  by  which  we  live. 
"  We  are  so  perplexed  between  you,  that  we  hardly 


10  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

"  know  what  to  say  or  think."  x  Subsequently, 
in  a  direct  reply  to  their  appeal  for  assistance,  he 
reproached  them  with  neglect,  if  not  cowardice : — 
"  "We  could  have  taken  Crown  Point,  but  you 
"  prevented  us.  Instead,  you  burnt  your  own  fort 
"  at  Saratoga  and  ran  away  from  it,  which  was  a 
"  shame  and  a  scandal  to  you.  Look  about  your 
"  country,  and  see !  You  have  no  fortifications  ;  no, 
"  not  even  in  Quider  (Albany).  It  is  but  a  step 
"  from  Canada  hither,  and  the  French  may  come  and 
"  turn  you  out  of  doors.  You  desire  us  to  speak 
"  from  the  bottom  of  our  hearts,  and  we  shall  do  it. 
"  Look  at  the  French  ;  they  are  men  !  They  are  for- 
"  tifying  everywhere.  But  you  are  all  like  women, 
"  bare  and  open,  without  fortifications ! ! "  2  The  Iro- 
quois  became  allies  of  the  French,  and  remained  so 
until  the  year  1759. 

In  1749,  the  Ohio  Company  received  a  grant 
of  a  large  territory  from  the  English  Grovernment, 
consisting  of  500,000  acres,  on  the  east  bank  of 
the  Ohio,  within  the  disputed  country.  They 
were  to  have  the  monopoly  of  the  Indian  trade. 

1  New  York  Colonial  Documents,  Vol.  VI.,  p.  813. 

2  Pichon's  Memoires  du  Cap  Breton,  1760,  p.  245. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  II 

The  French  considered  this  an  encroachment, 
claiming,  as  I  have  before  stated,  by  the  right  of 
discovery  and  occupation,  all  the  lands  watered 
by  the  tributaries  of  the  Mississippi.  The  Ohio 
Company,  opposed  alike  by  the  French  and  the 
Indians,  endeavored  to  take  forcible  possession  of 
their  property  by  erecting  a  fort  at  Redstone  (now 
Brownville),  on  the  Monongahela.  The  French  pro 
ceeding  with  the  erection  of  additional  forts,  the 
English  Grovernment,  through  Lord  Holderness, 
Secretary  of  State,  wrote  to  the  governors  of  Penn 
sylvania  and  Virginia,  that  "  whenever  the  French 
were  found  within  the  undoubted  limits  of  their 
provinces,"  force  should  be  used  to  repel  force.  * 
Thus  matters  stood  ready  for  an  open  conflict,  and  it 
is  not  suprising  that  a  rupture  soon  occurred  to 
which  neither  party  attached  much  importance. 
"With  the  exception  of  this  skirmish  in  1750,  at  a 
block-house  said  to  belong  to  the  English  on  the 
Miami  River,  in  which  the  French  were  successful, 
nothing  of  any  moment  arose  to  mar  the  peace 
established  since  the  Treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  of 

^arkman  says    that    this  letter   was   signed    by   the    King 
personally. 


12  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

1Y48  *  It  was  only  in  175  3  that  the  French  gave 
unmistakeable  signs  of  their  intention  of  maintain 
ing  by  force  the  country  claimed  by  both. 

In  this  year,  Lieut.-Grov.  Dinwiddie,  of  Virginia, 
purchased  the  right  from  the  Indians  on  the  Mon- 
ongahela  to  erect  a  fort  at  the  junction  of  that  river 
with  the  Alleghany.  He  then  determined  upon 
sending  an  envoy  to  the  French  commandant  at  the 
nearest  fort,  named  Le  Boeuf,  built  on  what  was 
known  as  the  French  Creek,  demanding  their  im 
mediately  vacating  the  territory. 

This  emissary  introduced  to  American  history  its 
greatest  and  most  remarkable  statesman,  the  cele 
brated  Greorge  Washington ;  who,  though  then  but 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  offered  to  undertake  this 
perilous  adventure.  Accompanied  by  the  land  sur 
veyor,  Grist,  and  a  few  Indians  ;  he  reached  the  fort, 

1  In  like  manner  to  the  English  instructions,  retaliatory  orders 
were  given  by  the  Governor  of  Canada  to  arrest  all  Englishmen 
found  beyond  the  Alleghanies,  and  seize  their  goods ;  this  was  put 
in  execution,  and  several  English  traders  were  forwarded  to  France 
and  lodged  in  the  prisons  of  Rochelle.  (The  Mystery  Revealed,  Lon 
don,  1759,  p,  298.)  A  remonstrance  and  demand  for  their  release, 
from  the  Court  of  England,  was  presented  by  the  English  Ambas 
sador  at  Paris,  the  Earl  of  Albemarle,  on  the  7th  March,  1752 
(idem,  p.  314),  but  received  no  satisfaction. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  13 

was  well  received,  delivered  the  G-overnor's  message, 
but  obtained  no  satisfaction.  In  the  following  year, 
1Y54,  Washington,  then  lieutenant-colonel  of  a  Vir 
ginia  regiment,  with  300  men,  was  sent  to  enforce 
his  mission  of  the  year  previous  and  to  erect  military 
works  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio ! !  *  He  was  to  be 
followed  by  Col.  Fry,  who  was  to  assume  command, 
but  this  latter  died  en  route. 

It  was  a  strange  decree  of  fate,  that  the  chosen 
Warrior  to  set  on  foot  the  "  seven  years'  war  "  in 
America,  ending  with  establishing  England's  supre 
macy  on  this  continent,  should  have  been  a  native- 
born  American  and  the  same  individual  who,  a  few 
years  hence,  dealt  the  blow  which  annihilated  her 
sovereignty  over  the  larger  and  more  valuable  part  of 
the  same  territory.  Stranger  still,  that  Providence 
ordained,  when  fighting  on  behalf  of  his  Mother 
Country  at  Forts  Necessity  and  Braddock's  Fields, 
the  only  engagements  of  the  War  in  which  he  took 
a  prominent  part,  both  should  be  disastrous  failures  ; 
while  his  last  effort,  when  directed  against  her  at 
Yorktown  in  1T81,  should  have  been  that  of  an  over 
whelming  victory,  upon  which  he  rose  to  the  pin- 

1  Washington's  Journal,  1754. 


IA  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

nacle  of  fame  and  severed  at  one  blow  the  parental 
ties  which  had  existed  over  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years  in  uninterrupted  harmony  with  her  cherished 
colonies,  for  which  she  had  so  often  fought  and  bled. 
Washington,  with  half  of  his  regiment,  reached 
Wills'  Creek,  a  fort  of  the  Ohio  Company,  which  was 
to  form  the  base  of  operations.  He  sent  Capt.  Trent 
to  erect  a  fort  at  the  present  site  of  Pittsburg,  but 
the  foundations  had  barely  been  laid  before  he  was 
suddenly  faced  by  a  force  of  500  French  militia, 
with  cannon,  and  obliged  to  desist.  No  engagement 
took  place,  and  he  was  allowed  to  rejoin  Washington. 
The  works  were  then  demolished,  and  gave  place  to 
the  erection  by  the  French  of  Fort  Duquesne.  In 
anticipation  of  an  attack  by  a  detachment  from 
this  same  force  under  Commander  Ensign  Jumonville 
de  Yilliers,  who  was  sent  on  a  reconnoitering  expedi 
tion  of  which  Washington  was  advised  through 
friendly  Indians,  but  which  was  considerably  magni 
fied  by  them  ;  he  proceeded  to  meet  them  on  the  26th 
May,  and  in  the  encounter  Jumonville  was  killed, 
with  nine  others,  and  twenty-one  prisoners  taken. 
This  gave  rise  to  a  great  deal  of  controversy  in  France 
and  Canada  and  Washington  was  accused  of  violating 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  I C 

all  known  articles  of  war  in  attacking  a  peaceful 
embassy.  With  the  lapse  of  time  and  cooler  judg 
ment,  both  French  and  Canadian  authors  have  with 
drawn  this  ridiculous  and  gratuitous  accusation. 

Expecting  a  more  formidable  attack,  he  built  an 
entrenchment,  which  he  named  Fort  Necessity. 
Being  reinforced  with  Col.  Fry's  detachment  of  the 
Virginia  militia,  he  had  a  force  of  300  men  and  one 
company  of  regulars  under  his  command.  The 
French,  on  the  3rd  July,  about  900  strong,  com 
manded  by  Coulon  de  Yilliers,  brother  of  Jumon- 
ville,  attacked  the  entrenchment  in  a  vigorous 
onslaught  and  after  nine  hours  incessant  fighting,  a 
flag  of  truce  was  sent  asking  a  capitulation,  which 
"Washington  accepted  with  "  honors  of  war."1 

No  doubt,  while  this  was  a  disastrous  failure  for 
Washington ;  in  result,  it  was,  practically  speaking, 
a  drawn  battle,  without  loss  of  honor  or  prestige  to 
him.  He  was  opposed  by  a  much  larger  force  ;  but 
having  the  advantage  of  position,  with  a  fort,  a  suffi 
cient  garrison  and  the  overtures  of  a  parley  coming 

1  The  Mystery  Revealed;  or,  Truth  brought  to  Light.  London,  1759, 
p.  22.  Also  idem,  Villier's  Journal,  p.  167,  and  Washington^  Journal, 
1754. 


l6  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

from  the  attacking  force,  lie  should  have  held  his 
ground  with  probably  ultimately  a  result  of  a 
complete  rout  to  his  attackers.  An  Indian  chief 
expressing  his  opinion  of  the  fight  to  Washington 
(Conotocarious,  as  he  was  called  by  them),  ex 
claimed,  "The  French  behaved  like  cowards;  the 
"  English  like  fools  ! !  "  It  was  upon  the  4th  July, 
1Y54,  in  his  twenty-second  year,  that  he  surrendered 
and  retreated  from  Fort  Necessity ;  it  was  a  remark 
able  coincidence  and  synchronism  that  upon  the  4th 
July,  twenty-two  years  afterwards,  he  began  and 
consummated  the  liberty  and  independence  of  a 
nation  destined  to  become  one  of  the  greatest  com 
mercial  and  controlling  powers  of  modern  times. ! 

Parkman,  in  Montcalm  and  Wolfe,  says  "  the  defeat 
"  at  Fort  Necessity  was  doubly  disastrous  to  the 
"  English,  since  it  was  a  new  step  and  a  long  one, 
"  towards  the  ruin  of  their  interests  with  the 
"  Indians  ;  and  when  in  the  next  year  the  smoul- 
"  dering  war  broke  into  flame,  nearly  all  the  west- 
u  ern  tribes  drew  their  scalping-knives  for  France. 

1  A  further  synchronism  in  this  remarkable  man's  life  is  the 
date  of  his  birth  being  the  year  in  which  the  patent  of  Georgia, 
which  made  up  the  thirteen  old  colonies,  was  granted,  and  for 
which  he  afterwards  obtained  independence  and  autonomy. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  Vj 

"  Yilliers  went  back  exultant  to  Fort  Duquesne, 
"  burning  on  his  way  the  buildings  of  Grist's  settle- 
"  ment  and  the  storehouse  at  Eedstone  Creek.  Not 
"  an  English  flag  now  waved  beyond  the  Allegha- 
"  nies." 

I  must  now  direct  your  attention  to  another  part 
of  America,  the  seat  also  of  continuous  dissensions 
and  warfare  since  it  was  disposed  of  by  the  Treaty 
of  Utrecht,  signed  on  the  llth  of  April,  1713. 

ACADIA,  the  home  of  the  pioneer  immigrants  of  La 
Nouvelle  France,  suffered  more  vicissitudes  from 
European  conflicts  than  any  other  portion  of  the 
American  mainland.  Alternating  according  to  its 
political  fate  in  name  with  New  Scotland,  or  Nova 
Scotia,  as  given  to  it  by  the  eccentric  Sir  William 
Alexander,  Earl  of  Stirling,  who  received  the  terri 
tory  as  a  gift  from  the  Scotch  King,  James  VI,  and 
1st  of  England ; — the  country  remained  in  the  hands 
of  a  few  French  fishermen  and  peasants1  until  it 
surrendered  permanently  to  the  English  on  the  2nd 
October,  1710.  At  this  time,  there  were  but  352  fami- 

1  More  than  M6tis,  for  there  was  a  considerable  sprinkling  of 
Scotch  as  well  as  Indian  blood  among  these  progenitors  of  the 
exiled  Acadians. — Rameau,  La  France  aux  Colonies. 
2 


l8  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

lies  in  all  resident  in  the  Province.  They  were,  by 
the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  allowed  their  option  either  to 
retire,  with  their  moveable  effects,  to  any  other 
place  within  a  year,  or  remain,  upon  becoming  sub 
jects  of  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain.  They  were  also 
to  have  the  free  exercise  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
religion,  so  far  as  the  laws  of  England  permit. 

But  few  emigrated,  though  nearly  all  expressed 
their  determination  of  doing  so  after  the  next  har 
vest. 

Finding  that  they  remained  and  showed  no  inten 
tion  of  leaving,  Gov.  Caulfield  requested  them,  on 
the  3rd  May,  1715,  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  new  King,  George  1st.  This  they  refused  to  do, 
likewise,  in  1717,  1719  and  1720.  The  local  English 
Governor  was  in  no  position  to  enforce  the  oath, 
having  but  200  soldiers  in  garrison,  and  the  French 
population  having  increased  to  several  thousands. 
The  Home  Government,  with  a  stolid  indifference, 
heeded  not  the  warnings  from  so  unimportant  a 
colony,  and  allowed  matters  to  take  their  own  course, 
presumably  relying  on  the  legal  assumption  that 
the  inhabitants,  remaining  one  year  after  the  Treaty, 
in  accordance  with  its  terms,  became  ipso  facto  the 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  ig 

subjects  of   Great   Britain,  whether  they  took   the 
oath  or  not. 

English     settlers     gradually     coming    into     the 
Province,  their    protection    and    the   upholding    of 
the     authority     of    England,     both     military    and 
civil,  entailed  considerable  anxiety  upon  the  Local 
Government  at  Annapolis.     This   disquietude   was 
enhanced  by  the   well-known  antipathy   the   Aca- 
dians  bore  to  everything  English.     It  had  already 
been  a  source  of  complaint  that,  under  the  sacred 
cassock,   the   servile   and    credulous    Acadian    was 
being  secretly  instructed  in  political  ethics  anything 
but  friendly  to  the  Local  Government.     To  counter 
act  the  danger  accruing  therefrom,  officers  were  sent 
out  in  1725  to  insist  upon  an  immediate  oath  of  loy 
alty  being  taken.     Meeting  with  the  usual  opposi 
tion,  but  determined  to  have  an  oath  taken,  they 
unfortunately  modified  the  form,  and  had  it  sub 
scribed  to;    upon  which  the   Acadians   ever    after 
wards  claimed  the  character  of  "  Neutrals  ! !  "     They 
were  not  to  bear  arms  against  the  French,  English,  or 
Indians ! ! 

As    soon    as    this   was    reported    to   Lieut.-Gov. 
Armstrong,  he  repudiated  the  act  of  his  Officers,  and 


20  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

submitted  the  matter  to  the  Home  Government,  who 
likewise  declined  to  admit  the  position  assumed  by 
the  Acadians  or  accept  the  oath  as  worded. 1  Gen. 
Richard  Philipps,  who  enjoyed  the  sinecure  position 
of  Governor-General  of  the  Colony  from  1717  to  1749, 
returned  from  England  upon  the  special  mission  to  en 
force  an  unconditional  oath.  This  he  obtained  in  1730 
in  the  following  terms :  "  Je  promets  et  jure  sincere- 
"  ment  en  foi  de  Chretien  que  je  serai  entierement 
"  fidele  et  obeirai  vraiment  Sa  Majeste  le  Eoi  George 
"  le  Second,  que  je  reconnais  pour  le  Souverain 
"  Seigneur  de  1'Acadie.  ou  Nouvelle  Ecosse.  Ainsi, 
"  Dieu  me  soit  en  aide."  :  Even  this  oath,  plain  as  it 
is,  in  effect,  was  objected  to  by  the  Home  Govern 
ment  as  being  insufficiently  explicit  in  terms. 3 

Notwithstanding  the  admonition  given  to  the 
people  and  priests,  the  political  sermon  still  contin 
ued,  and  an  example  having  to  be  made  to  enforce 

1  Murdock's  History  of  Nova  Scotia,  Vol.  I.,  p.  437. 

2  (Translation.)    I  promise  and  swear  sincerely,  on  the  faith  of 
a  Christian,  that  I  will  be  entirely  faithful  and  truly  obey  his 
Majesty  George  2nd,  whom  I  acknowledge  as   the  Sovereign  of 
Acadia,  or  Nova  Scotia.    So  help  me  God. 

3  Murdock,  idem.,  p.  457,  Vol.  I. ;  also  Nova  Scotia  Archives,  1869, 
p.  84. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  21 

law  and  order,  Gov.  Armstrong,  in  1729,  ordered  Mons. 
Breeley,  the  priest,  to  leave  the  Province  within  a 
month.  An  excellent  view  of  the  position,  from  a 
contemporary  write^  of  1748,  may  here  be  quoted : 
"  Though  these  inhabitants  became  English  subjects 
"  by  virtue  of  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht  and  their  oath 
"  of  allegiance  of  1730  ;  yet  the  French  Governor 
"  and  Bishop  in  Canada  preserved  the  chief  influ- 
"  ence  and  command  over  them,  and  cultivated  in 
"  them  their  former  hereditary  attachment  to  the 
"  French  King ;  so  that  they  continued  a  distinct 
"  body  of  French  Roman  Catholicks,  exempted  by 
"  the  English  Government  from  bearing  arms  in 
"  defence  of  it,  and  kept  by  their  priests  so  unmixed 
"  with  and  separate  from  the  English,  that  no  Eng- 
"  lish  families  could  settle  among  them.  The  conse- 
"  quence  of  all  which  was,  that  the  increase  of  these 
"  Acadian s,  instead  of  strengthening  the  King's 
"  Government,  as  they  naturally  ought  to  have 
"  done,  became  dangerous  to  it,  and  by  remaining 
"  in  the  Province  were  of  much  greater  service  to 
"  France,  than  if  they  had  removed  into  the  French 
"  Government  (Canada)  immediately  after  the  Treaty 
"  of  Utrecht,  as  they  were  a  growing  stock  in  Nova 


22  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

"  Scotia  or  settling  it  with  French  inhabitants,  even 
"  whilst  it  was  in  the  hands  of  the  English,  and  at 
"  the  same  time  contributed  to  the  growth  of  Cape 
"  Breton  by  supplying  it  with  provisions."1 

Subsequent  events,  and  the  effect  of  the  Treaty  of 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  having  been  very  ably  treated  by 
the  President  at  the  last  meeting  of  this  Society,  I 
have  only  to  add,  that  upon  an  effort  being  made  to 
get  the  oath  of  allegiance  taken,  after  they  had  been 
again  transferred  by  the  French  G-overnment  to  the 
British,  on  the  18th  April,  1748,  the  usual  artifices 
of  neutrality  were  employed  to  avoid  it. 

In  1Y55,  Halifax  and  Annapolis  Eoyal  had  sprung 
into  places  of  considerable  importance,  and  other 
English  settlements  being  rapidly  formed,  it  was 
deemed  absolutely  necessary  to  put  down,  even 
with  a  harsh  hand,  the  numerous  predatory 
and  hostile  acts  the  Acadians  were  constantly 
harassing  these  new  settlers  with.  Murder,  rapine 
and  open  warfare,  instigated  by  them,  were  incurred 
at  the  hands  of  the  native  Micmacs.  Several  hun 
dreds  of  the  former,  with  a  large  contingent  of  the 

1  Memoirs  of  the  Principal  Transactions  of  the  Last  War.  London, 
1758,  p.  18. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  23 

latter,  were  found  in  arms  at  the  forts  of  Beaubassin 
and  Baye-verte.  The  alarm  of  the  English  inhabit 
ants  was  widespread,  especially  as  events  were 
pointing  to  another  conflict  between  the  crowns  of 
England  and  France  at  no  distant  day.  This  con 
flict  promised  to  be  a  war  of  extermination  to  one  or 
the  other  party  in  America.  I  will  again  quote  the 
position  of  matters  from  contemporary  writers  : — 

JOHN  HUSKE,  in  his  work  on  the  "  Present  State 
of  North  America,"  published  both  in  London  and 
Boston  in  1755,  prior  to  the  Acadian  removal,  says 
(pages  39-40) :  "  Since  the  Peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
"  the  French  have  erected,  in  Nova  Scotia,  one  fort 
"  at  Beaubassin  and  another  at  Baye-verte.  From 
"  hence  they  have  furnished  the  Indians,  who  make 
"  about  300  fighting  men,  with  arms,  ammunition, 
"  provisions  and  clothing.  Upon  our  attempt  to  colo- 
"  nize  the  Province  immediately  after  the  late  war 
"  with  France,  they  spirited  up  these  Indians  to  war 
"  against  us,  by  their  ample  supplies ;  by  their 
"  giving  them  a  large  bounty  for  every  English  pri- 
"  soner  they  brought  to  them,  and  a  much  larger  for 
"  every  English  scalp  they  could  produce ;  by  their 
"  promising  to  protect  them  in  their  forts,  and  by 


2 A  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

"  disguising  themselves  and  occasionally  joining  the 
"  Indians  in  their  enterprizes  against  our  settle- 
"  ments,  etc.,  etc.  The  Indians  surprised  the  village 
"  of  Dartmouth  one  night,  and,  altho'  it  had  a 
"  guard  of  soldiers,  they  burnt  the  houses  and  put 
"  both  men,  women  and  children  to  death.  The 
"  French  also,  as  soon  as  they  had  built  these  two 
"  forts,  threatened  to  destroy  all  the  French  subjects 
"  of  his  Majesty  and  burn  their  settlements  without 
"  their  forts  on  the  peninsula,  if  they  did  not  retreat 
"  into  the  country  within  their  forts  ;  therefore  they, 
"  who  have  always  inclined  to  the  French  on  account  of 
"  their  religion,  etc.,  though  ever  indulged  in  the 
"  free  exercise  of  that  and  every  thing  else,  burnt 
"  their  houses,  destroyed  their  plantations,  and  went 
"  under  the  protection  of  the  French,  and  prove  as 
"  good  subjects  of  the  French  king  as  any  he  has  in 
"  America.  Contrary  to  their  oath  of  allegiance, 
"  many  of  them  have  been  detected  in  joining  the 
"  French  and  Indians,  both  in  peace  and  war, 
"  against  his  Majesty's  subjects." 

Another,  DR.  WILLIAM  CLARKE,  in  his  Obser 
vations  on  the  Late  and  Present  Conduct  of  the 
French  with  Regard  to  their  Encroachments  upon  the 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  2$ 

British  Colonies  in  North  America,  published  at  Boston, 
just  prior  to  the  expulsion  of  the  Acadians  in  1Y55, 
states  (page  28) :     "  The  French  inhabitants  of  Aca- 
"  dia  are  well-known  to   be  better  inclined  to  the 
"  French  than  the  English  Government,  and  must 
"  eternally  be  so,  as  long   as  they  are  suffered  to 
"  have  French  Roman  Catholic  priests,  subjects  of 
"  the  French  king  and  under  the  direction  of  the 
"  Bishop  of  Quebec,  among  them  ;   and  as  the  Eng- 
"  lish  have  not  one  fort,  except   Annapolis   Royal, 
"  that  can  hold  out  one  day  against  a  proper  number 
"  of  regular  forces  provided  with  sufficient  cannon, 
"  if  the  French  should,  before  the  English  are  aware 
"  of  it,  send  a  large  body  of  troops,  with  necessary 
"  artillery,  and  a  number  of  men-of-war  to  protect 
"  them,  the  French  inhabitants,  who  amount  to  many  thou- 
"  sands,   would,  upon   their  first   appearance,  universally 
"  revolt,  and  the  conquest  of  that  whole   province 
"  w^uldnot  take  up  one  fortnight.    When  the  French 
"  have  once  made  a  conquest  of  this  province  and 
"  strengthened  themselves  in  it,  they  will  have  laid 
"  a  good  foundation  for  dispossessing  the  English,  in 
"  some  future  time,   of   all  their    other  colonies  in 
"  North  America,  and  securing  them  to  themselves 
"  with  all  the  advantages  of  them." 


26  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

Yet  another, — a  French  contemporary  writer — 
BuTEL-DuMONT,  in  his  Histoire  et  Commerce  des  Colo 
nies  Anglaises,  published  in  1755,  at  page  72  states  : 
"  La  cession  qui  a  ete  faite  de  ce  pays  a  la  Grande 
"  Bretagne  a  rendu  la  Nouvelle  Angleterre  plus  tran- 
"  quille  et  a  assure  son  commerce.  Les  Anglais  ne 
"  sont  pourtant  pas  tout- &-f ait  delivres  des  inquietudes  que 
"  leur  donnaient  les  alliances  des  Sauvages  avec  les  Fran- 
"  pais.  Ces  derniers  qui  habitaient  en  Acadie  n'ayant 
"  pas  voulu  se  soumettre  a  la  domination  anglaise> 
"  se  sont  retires  dans  la  Graspesie,  d'ou  Us  incommodent 
"  leurs  voisins"1  This  has  reference  to  the  year  1755, 
when  the  French  inhabitants  were  supposed  to  be, 
at  least,  "  Neutrals  ! "  Allusion  is  here  made  to  the 
new  English  settlement  at  Chebucto,  then  named 
Halifax. 

The  Memoirs  of  S.  de  O.,2  a  contemporary  writer  of 

1  (Translation.)    Butel-Dumont,  in  his  History  and  Commerce  of 
the  English  Colonies,  published  in  1755,  states  :    "  The  cession  which 
"  had  been  made  of  this  Country  to  Great  Britain  rendered  New 
"  England   more  quiet,  and  secured  its  commerce.     The  English 
"  were  neverthe  less,  not  altogether  free  from  anxiety,  occasioned  by  the 
"  alliances  of  the  Indians  with  the  French.    These  latter,  who  inhab- 
"  ited  Acadia,  not  being  willing  to  submit  to  English  domination, 
"  withdrew  to  Gasp6  District,  from  which  they  worry  their  neighbors" 

2  Believed  to  have  been  written  by  Vauquelin,  a  Captain  in  com 
mand  of  one  of  the  French  war  vessels  in  the  St.  Lawrence,  both  at 
Louisbourg  and  Quebec. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  27 

1148  to  1Y60,  published  by  the  Quebec  Literary  and 
Historical  Society  in  1838,  at  page  60,  condemns  in 
no  unmeasured  terms  the  acts  of  these  native-born 
subjects  of  England  against  the  charitable  treatment 
they  had  ever  received  ;  his  words  are :  "  Le  G-ouver- 
"  neur-G-eneral  de  1'Acadie  voulant  egalement  retablir 
"  1'ordre  et  la  tranquillite  dans  ce  pays,  manda  aux 
u  habitants  de  venir  a  Chebuctou  (Halifax),  y  prefer 
"  au  Eoy  serment  de  fidelite.  Les  propositions  qu'il 
"  fit  faire  etaient  des  plus  raisonnables  ;  elles  etaient 
4<  qu'on  leur  conserverait  les  privileges  que  le  traite 
"  d'Utretch  et  la  Eeine  Anne  leur  avaient  accordes : 
"  les  Acadiens  s'imaginerent  qu'ils  etaient  plus  craints 
"  qu'on  ne  pensoit ;  ils  refuserent  de  faire  serment. 
"  Le  G-ouverneur  leur  repartit :  Yous  £tes  reellement 
"  sujets  du  Eoy  d'Angleterre,  vous  e"tes  nes  sous  sa 
"  domination,  vous  1'avez  meme  souvent  reconnu 
"  pour  tel ;  la  France  sur  laquelle  vous  vous  fiez, 
"  n'agit  que  par  politique  et  vous  fait  jouer  le  role 
"  de  rebelles,  pour  nous  inquieter  jusque  chez  nous  ; 
"  enfin  il  les  menapa  de  sevir  contre  eux,  et  ajouta 
"  que  s'ils  ne  se  resolvaient  au  plus  tot,  il  allait  faire 
"  tirer  les  canons  de  la  ville  sur  eux,  afin  de  s'en  de- 
"  faire  promptement :  les  Acadiens  pousses  d'un  zele 


28  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

"  fanatique,  excites  par  les  pretres,  refuserent  cons- 
"  tamment  d'obeir  an  G-ouverneur,  qui  ay  ant  fait  re- 
"  flexion  que  sa  reputation  souffriroit  moins  de  se  de- 
"  faire  de  ce  peuple  en  les  dispersant,  resolut  de  les 
"  faire  embarquer  par  families,  et  de  les  envoyer  dans 
"  les  differentes  possessions  Anglaises  dans  1'Ame- 
"rique."1 

Other  French  authors  of  the  period  confirm  these 
statements,  notably  PICHON  in  his  Lettres  et  Memoires 
sur  Cap  Breton,  1760,  pp.  239  et  seq.,  while  those  of  our 
day  speak  as  follows  :  EEVEILLAUD,  in  his  Histoire  du 
Canada,  page  22,  states :  "  La  population  totale  des 
"  Acadiens  fran9ais  s'elevait  a  cette  epoque  a  16,000 
"  ames  ;  de  ce  nombre  4,000  peut-eire  avaient  emigre 
"  dans  les  lies  du  golfe  St.  Laurent,  ou  elles  se  retrou- 

1  (Translation.)  "  The  Governor-General  of  Acadia,  wishing 
"  to  reestablish  order  and  tranquility  in  the  country,  requested 
"  the  Inhabitants  to  come  to  Chebuctou  (Halifax)  and  take 
"  there  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  King.  The  propositions 
•'which  he  had  made  to  them  were  of  the  most  reasonable; 
"  they  were  to  the  effect  that  they  should  be  confirmed  in  the 
".privileges  given  to  them  at  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht  and  by  Queen 
"  Anne.  The  Acadians  imagined  that  the  Government  were 
"  more  afraid  of  them  than  they  actually  were.  They  refused  to 
"  take  the  oath.  The  Governor  replied :  '  You  are  in  reality  sub- 
"  '  jects  of  the  King  of  England ;  you  are  born  under  his  domination, 
"  '  you  have  on  several  occasions  admitted  his  sovereignty ;  France, 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  2Q 

"  vaient  sons  le  pavilion  de  la  France  ;  un  nombre  a 
"  pen  pres  egal  s'etait  refugie  dans  les  posies  encore 
"  occupees  par  les  troupes  fran9aises  autour  del'Isth- 
"  me  de  Shediac  et  c'etaient  des  Acadiens  qui  composaient 
"  la  plus  grande  partie  de  la  garnison  dans  les  forts  de 
"  Beausejour  et  de  Gaspereaux  que  nous  venons  de  voirpris 
"  par  le  colonel  Window.  Le  reste  des  Acadiens,  soit 
"  done  une  population  de  8,000  habitants,  vivaient 
"  paisiblement  dans  leur  presqu'ile,  sur  les  terres 
"  qui  les  avaient  vus  naitre,  que  leurs  peres  avaient 
"  defrichees  et  qu'ils  cultivaient  avec  amour,  donnant 
"  1'exemple  de  toutes  les  vertus  privees  et  domestiques. 
"  Us  avaient  subi,  sans  trop  protester,  lasouverainete 
"  de  1'Angleterre,  et  tout  ce  qu'ils  demandaient,  c'e- 
"  tait  qu'on  les  laissat  cultiver  en  paix  leurs  petits 
"  domaines  et  qu'on  ne  les  contraignit  pas  a  porter 

" '  upon  which  you  rely,  acts  only  by  policy,  and  makes  you  play  the 
'  r6le  of  rebels,  by  which  we  are  annoyed  at  our  very  doors.'  Fin 
ally,  he  threatened  them  with  severe  punishment,  and  said  '  if  they 
'  did  not  come  to  an  immediate  decision,  he  would  have  the  cannons 
1  of  i  he  town  turned  upon  them,  to  get  rid  of  them  summarily.'  The 

'  Acadians,  actuated  by  a  fanatical  zeal,  instilled  by  their  Priests, 
constantly  refused  to  obey  the  Government,  who  came  to  the  con 
clusion  that  their  reputation  would  suffer  less  by  deporting  them 
and  dispersing  them,  therefore  resolved:  To  embark  them  by 

"  families,  and  to  send  them  into  the  different  possessions  of  England 

"  in  America." 


30  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

"  leurs  armes  centre  leurs  anciens  compatriot es,  con- 
"  tre  les  hommes  de  leur  langue,  de  leur  religion  et 
"  de  leur  sang.  Une  sorte  de  convention  tacite  detail 
"  etablie  sur  ce  point  entre  eux  et  leurs  gouverneurs,  et  leur 
"  avait  valu  leur  nom  de  '  Franpais  neutres.' "  f 

EAMEAU,  in  La  France  aux  Colonies,  p.  35,  states  :  "  A 
"  la  suite  du  traite  d'Utrecht  le  canton  des  Mines  et  de 
"  Beaubassin,  ou  se  concentraient  de  plus  en  plus  la 
"  majeure  partie  des  Acadiens,efewewra  done  Franpais  par 
"  le  fait,  quoique  Anglais  par  les  traites ;  ils  etaient  restes 

f  (Translation.)  Reveillaud,  in  his  History  of  Canada,  p.  22,  states 
"  The  total  population  of  the  French  Acadians  reached  at  this  epoch 
"  16,000  souls ;  of  this  number  about  4000  emigrated  to  the  Islands  in 
"  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  where  they  were  under  the  French  flag 
"  an  equal  number  found  refuge  in  the  posts  occupied  by  French 
"  troops  surrounding  the  Isthmus  of  Shediac,  and  it  was  Acadians 
"  who  composed  the  greater  part  of  the  Garrisons  of  the  Forts  of  Beause- 
"  jour  and  Gasperaux,  which  we  have  just  seen  captured  by  Col.  Window. 
"  The  remainder  of  the  Acadians,  about  8000  Inhabitants,were  living 
"  quietly  in  the  Peninsula  on  the  lands  upon  which  they  were  born, 
"  which  their  forefathers  cleared  and  which  they  themselves  culti- 
"  vated  with  love,  giving  an  example  of  every  virtue,  private  and 
"  domestic.  They  had  submitted  to,  not  without  protestations,  the 
"  English  Sovereignty ;  and  all  they  asked  in  return,  was  to  be 
"  allowed  to  cultivate  their  lands  in  peace,  and  that  they  should  not 
"  be  obliged  to  bear  arms  against  their  former  compatriots,  against 
"  men  of  their  own  language,  religion  and  blood.  A  sort  of  tacit 
"  agreement  was  established  on  this  point  between  them  and  their  Governors, 
"  which  gave  them  the  name  of  French  Neutrals." 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  21 

"  d'ailleurs  en  communication  par  1'isthme  de  la  pres- 
"  qu'ile  avec  les  fran9ais  du  Canada,  qui  avaient  con- 
"  serve  toutes  les  cotes  du  continent,  malgre  les  pre- 
"  tentions  des  Anglais.  De  la  sorte,  ces  Acadiens,  en 
"  d6pit  de  quelques  tiraillements  et  vexations,  de- 
"  meurerent  pendant  trente  a  quarante  ans  dans  un 
"  etat  de  neutralite  supportable,  quoique  penible  et  mal 


Section  XIY  of  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht  reads  as  fol 
lows  :  "  It  is  expressly  provided,  that  in  all  the  said 
"  places  and  colonies  to  be  yielded  and  restored  by 
"  the  Most  Christian  King,  in  pursuance  of  this 
"  treaty,  the  subjects  of  the  said  King  may  have 
"  liberty  to  remove  themselves  within  a  year  to  any 
"  other  place,  as  they  shall  think  fit,  together  with 
"  all  their  moveable  effects.  But  those  who  are 


1  (Translation.)  Kameau,  in  France  in  the  Colonies,  p.  35,  states  : 
"  Following  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  the  District  of  Minas  and  Beau- 
"  bassin,  where  were  concentrated  the  greater  number  of  the  Aca- 
"  dians,  remained  French  by  the  fact,  while  English  by  the  Treaties  ;  the 
"  people  were,  besides,  in  communication,  by  way  of  the  Isthmus, 
"  with  the  French  of  Canada,  who  retained  possession  of  all  the  coast 
"  of  the  Continent,  in  spite  of  the  pretensions  of  the  English.  From 
"  which,  these  Acadians,  notwithstanding  some  difficulties  and 
"  vexations,  lived  during  thirty  to  forty  years  in  a  state  of  tolerable 
"  neutrality,  though  somewhat  pain/id  and  badly  defined." 


32  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

u  willing  to  remain  there,  and  to  be  subject  to  the 
"  Kingdom  of  G-reat  Britain,  are  to  enjoy  the  free 
"  exercise  of  their  religion,  according  to  the  usage  of 
"  the  Church  of  Rome,  as  far  as  the  laws  of  G-reat 
"  Britain  do  allow  the  same." 

Is  it  not  clear,  from  the  very  language  of  this  sec 
tion,  not  altered  by  any  other,  that  all  remaining 
inhabitants  became,  ipso  facto,  by  choice,  subjects  of 
G-reat  Britain?  In  fact,  it  was  so  regarded  by  the 
Crown  at  that  day,  for  no  oath  was  requested  until  a 
new  king  ascended  the  throne,  when  it  became  one 
of  allegiance  to  him  personally  as  an  act  of  "  foi  et 
hommage."  To  the  State — the  Government — they 
had  become  British  subjects,  by  tacit  consent,  in 
remaining  residents  of  the  country,  and  it  required 
no  further  oath  to  legalize  or  complete  the  status. 

The  Treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  expressly  confirmed 
and  reiterated  the  above  clause  of  the  Treaty  of 
Utrecht ;  thus,  the  French  Acadians  were  twice 
confirmed  British  subjects.  They  had  not  even  the 
privilege  granted  to  them  (as  by  that  of  Utrecht)  of 
having  one  year  in  which  to  decide.  This  latter 
concession  they  asked  for,  and  endeavored  to  claim, 
but  the  authorities  emphatically  refused  it. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  33 

Grov.  Oornwallis,  of  Nova  Scotia,  in  1*749,  left  no 
uncertain  sound  on  the  subject  of  their  allegiance  and 
oath  in  the  minds  of  his  hearers.  He  stated,  in  a  lengthy 
reply  to  a  deputation  :  "  We  have  cause  to  be  much 
"  astonished  at  your  conduct.  This  is  the  third  time 
"  you  have  come  here,  and  you  do  nothing  but 
"  repeat  the  same  story.  To-day,  you  present  us  a 
"  letter,  signed  by  a  thousand  persons,  in  which  you 
"  declare  openly  that  you  will  be  the  subjects  of  his 
"  Britannick  Majesty  on  such  and  such  conditions. 
"  It  appears  to  me  you  think  yourselves  independ- 
"  ent  to  any  government,  and  you  wish  to  treat  with 
"  the  King  as  if  you  were  so.  But  you  ought  to 
"  know  that,  from  the  end  of  the  year  stipulated  in 
"  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht  for  the  evacuation  of  the 
"  country,  those  who  chose  to  remain  in  the  Pro- 
"  vince  became  at  once  the  subjects  of  G-reat  Britain. 
"  The  treaty  declares  them  such ;  the  King  of  France 
"  declares,  in  the  treaty,  that  all  the  French  who 
"  shall  remain  in  this  Province  shall  be  the  subjects 
"  of  her  then  British  Majesty.  It  would  be  contrary 
"  to  common  sense,  also,  to  suppose  that  one  can 
"  remain  in  a  province,  and  possess  houses  and  lands 

"  there,  without  being  subject  to  the  Sovereign  of 
3 


2  A  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

"  that  Province.  You  deceive  yourselves,  if  you 
"  think  you  are  at  liberty  to  choose  whether  you 
"  will  be  the  subjects  of  the  King  or  no.  From  the 
"  year  1714,  that  no  longer  depended  upon  you. 
"  From  that  moment  you  became  subject  to  the  laws 
"  of  Great  Britain.  You  ought  to  have  taken  the 
"  oath  of  allegiance  to  your  King  the  moment  you 
"  were  required  to  do  so.  You  tell  me  that  Gen. 
"  Phillips  granted  you  the  reservations  you  demand  ; 
"  and  I  tell  you  the  General  who  granted  you  such 
"  reservations  did  not  do  his  duty ;  and  also  that 
"  this  oath  has  never,  in  the  slightest  degree, 
"  lessened  your  obligations  to  act  always  as  a  sub- 
"  ject  ought  to  act.  You  allow  yourselves  to  be  led 
"  away  by  people  who  find  it  to  their  interest  to 
"  lead  you  astray.  They  have  made  you  imagine  it 
"  is  only  your  oath  which  binds  you  to  the  English. 
"  They  deceive  you.  It  is  not  the  oath  which  a 
"  king  administers  to  his  subjects  that  makes  them 
"  subjects.  The  oath  supposes  that  they  are  so 
"  already.  The  oath  is  nothing  but  a  very  sacred 
"  bond  of  the  fidelity  of  those  who  take  it.  It  is  only 
"  out  of  pity  to  your  situation,  and  to  your  inexpe- 
"  rience  in  the  affairs  of  government,  that  we  conde- 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  \  C 

"  scend  to  reason  with  you  ;  otherwise,  the  question 
"  would  not  be  reasoning,  but  commanding  and 
"  being  obeyed."  ]  It  must  here  be  remembered 
that  the  oath  administered  by  Phillips2  contained  no 
reservation,  but  they  claimed  that  a  verbal  one  had 
been  made  by  him,  which  induced  them  to  accept 
the  oath. 

No  less  than  five  opportunities3  were  afforded  to 
them  between  the  years  1Y49  and  1*755  to  take  the 
oath  of  allegiance  ;  but  upon  each  occasion  they 
positively  refused  to  do  so,  except  with  the  old  reser 
vation,  which  could  not  now  be  accepted.  To  defer 
action  longer  would  be  pusillanimous,  if  not  degrad- 


1  Nova  Scotia  Archives,  1869,  p.  174. 

2  See  ante,  p.  20. 


3  As  an  illustration  of  one  of  these  "  opportunities,"  I  copy,  ver 
batim,  the  language  used :  "  In  the  King's  name.  By  order  of  his 
"  Excellency,  CHARLES  LAWRENCE,  Esquire,  Lieu  tenant-Governor 
"  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Province  of  Nova  Scotia,  or  Aca- 
"  dia,  &c.  Proclamation.  To  the  inhabitants  and  all  others,  natives 
"  of  Chignecto,  Baie-verte,  Tintamar,  Chepoudi,  St.  John's  River,  and 
"  their  appurtenances  and  adjacent  parts,  and  all  others,  who  have 
"  not  yet  made  their  submissions  ; 

"  Whereas,  most  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  above  and  other 
"  places  have  not  yet  made  their  submission  to  the  King  of  Great 
"  Britain,  but,  on  the  contrary,  have  demeaned  themselves  contrary 
"  to  all  orders  and  loyalty  to  their  proper  Sovereign.  Therefore, 

"  This  is  to  command  them  to  repair  immediately  to  my  camp, 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

ing,  in  the  extreme.  The  first  key-note  of  the 
coming  action  was  in  October,  1754,  when  the  Lords 
of  Trade  wrote  to  G-ov.  Lawrence  the  following : — 
"  As  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  district  of  Chignecto, 
"  who  are  actually  gone  over  to  the  French  at  Beau- 
"  sejour,  if  the  Chief  Justice  should  be  of  opinion 
"  that  by  refusing  to  take  the  oath  without  a  reserve, 
"  or  by  deserting  their  settlements  to  join  the  French, 
"  they  have  forfeited  their  title  to  their  lands,  we 
"  could  wish  that  proper  measures  were  pursued  for 
"  carrying  such  forfeiture  into  execution  by  legal 
"  process." 

On  May  10th,  1755,  G-ov.  Lawrence  writes  from 
Halifax  to  Gen.  Braddock,  the  English  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  Forces,  who  was  then  on  his  ill-fated  ex 
pedition  in  the  Ohio  Valley  : — "  Should  a  rupture  hap- 
"  pen  with  France  (an  event  founded  upon  appear- 
"  ances  and  reports),  it  would  be  extremely  necessary 

"  in  order  to  make  their  submission,  bringing  along  with  them  all 
"  their  firearms,  swords,  sabres,  pistols,  and  all  other  instruments 
"  of  war;  in  disobedience  of  which,  they  shall  be  treated,  as  rebels, 
"  with  military  execution. 

"Given  at  the  camp  of  Chignecto,  this  thirteenth  day  of  May, 
"1755.  Signed,  ROBERT  MONCKTON."  (The  Mystery  Revealed,  1759, 
p.  257.) 

1  Nova  Scotia  Archives,  1869,  p.  237. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  3? 

"  for  us  to  keep  on  our  guard  I  esteem  it  my  duty 
"  to  acquaint  you  that,  in  such  case,  the  three  regi- 
"  ments,  augmented  as  it  is  proposed  [to  a  thousand 
"  men  each],  with  the  scouts,  the  militia,  and  all  the 
"  forces  that  we  can  depend  upon,  will  no  ways  be 
u  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  posts  which  we 
"  must  be  obliged  to  defend,  especially  if  it  be  con- 
"  sidered  that,  even  in  the  heart  of  the  Province,  we 
"  have  what  they  call  neutral  French — inhabitants 
"  well  armed,  well  experienced  in  the  use  of  arms, 
"  and  also  are  connected  with  the  French  King;  so 
"  that,  upon  the  least  attempt  which  Canada  should 
"  make  to  invade  us,  I  believe  it  is  more  than  pro- 
"  bable  that  they  would  immediately  join  them.  As 
<;  I  take  this  article  to  be  of  importance,  I  thought  it 
"  my  duty  to  submit  it  to  your  reflection."  1 

Before  a  reply  was  received  from  Gen.  Braddock, 
circumstances  compelled  the  G-overnor  to  act 
promptly.  Upon  receipt  of  a  memorial,  couched  in 
most  offensive  tone,  of  date  June  10,  1755,  said  to 
have  been  occasioned  by  the  rumour  that  a  fleet  of 
French  vessels  were  close  at  hand  to  protect  them,  he 
sent  Capt.  Murray  to  remove  their  firearms,  but  this 

1  The  Mystery  Revealed,  1759,  p.  235. 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

officer  was  so  insolently  treated,  that  the  G-overnor- 
in-Council,  on  4th  July,  1755,  felt  constrained  to  pass 
the  following  resolution : — "  Council,  after  considera- 
"  tion,were  of  opinion  that  directions  should  be  given 
"  to  Capt.  Murray  to  order  the  French  inhabitants, 
"  forthwith,  to  choose  and  send  to  Halifax  new 
"  deputies  with  the  general  resolution  of  the  said 
"  inhabitants  in  regard  to  taking  the  oath,  and  that 
"  none  of  them  should,  for  the  future,  be  admitted 
"  to  take  it  after  having  once  refused  to  do  so,  but 
"  that  effectual  measures  ought  to  be  taken  to 
"  remove  such  recusants  out  of  the  Province."  1 

The  deputies  were  informed  of  this  resolution,  and 
it  was  at  once  read  out  at  the  church  doors  to  the 
people.  By  the  end  of  July,  answer  had  been 
received  from  all  the  French  settlements  to  the  effect 
that  they  would  take  no  new  oath ;  the  Council 2 

1  Nova  Scotia  Archives,  1869,  p.  256. 
2 The  Council  present  at  this  important  session  were: 
The  Lieutenant-Governor,  the  Hon.  CHARLES  LAWRENCE,  Major 
in  War  burton's  regiment  of  foot,  was  present  at  both  engage 
ments  at  Louisbourg.    Councillor,  in  1749,  in  Gov.  Cornwallis's 
Cabinet.    Colonel   in    1757.    Administrated  the    Government  of 
Nova  Scotia  upon  the  retirement  of  Gov.  Hopson.    Was  appointed 
Lieutenant-Governor,  1754;  Go vernor-in- Chief,  1756.    During  his 
administration,  the  first  Legislative  Assembly  of  Nova  Scotia  was 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  39 

thereupon  decided — at  which  were  present  the  Eng 
lish  admirals,  Boscawen  and  Mostyn — that  "  as  it 
"  had  been  determined  before  to  send  all  the  French 
"  inhabitants  out  of  the  Province  if  they  refused  to 
"  take  the  oath,  nothing  now  remained  to  be  consid- 
"  ered  but  what  measures  should  be  taken  to  send 
"  them  away,  and  where  they  should  be  sent  to. 
"  After  mature  consideration,  it  was  unanimously 
"  agreed  that,  to  prevent  as  much  as  possible  their 
"  attempting  to  return  and  molest  the  settlers  that 
"  may  be  set  down  on  their  lands,  it  would  be  most 
"  proper  to  send  them  to  be  distributed  amongst  the 

convened  at  Halifax  on  the  2nd  October,  1758.  Died,  at  Halifax, 
Sunday,  19th  October,  1760,  after  eight  days'  illness,  in  the  prime 
of  life,  of  inflammation  of  the  lungs.  He  was  unmarried.  The 
Legislature  voted  a  monument  to  his  memory,  to  be  erected  in  St. 
Paul's  Church,  Halifax.  "From  a  grateful  sense  of  the  many 
"  important  services  which  the  Province  had  received  from  him 
'*  during  a  continued  course  of  zealous  and  indefatigable  endeavors 
"  for  the  public  good,  and  a  wise,  upright,  and  disinterested 
"  administration."  (Nova  Scotia  Archives,  p.  236.) 

BENJAMIN  GREEN. — Native  of  Massachusetts ;  born  1713.  Son  to 
the  Rev.  Joseph  Green,  rector,  and  a  graduate  of  Harvard.  Mer 
chant  in  Boston.  Secretary  to  Gen.  Pepperell  at  Louisbourg,  1745. 
One  of  Gen.  Cornwall is's  Council  in  1749.  Treasurer  of  the  Pro 
vince  of  Nova  Scotia.  Administrator  of  the  Government  in  1766. 
Died  at  Halifax,  1772.  (Nova  Scotia  Archives  p.  569.) 

JOHN  COLLIER. — The  Hon.  John  Collier  was  a  retired  officer  of  the 
army.  He  came  out  with  the  first  British  settlers  in  1749.  Was  a 


zj.0  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

"  several  colonies  on  the  continent  of  America,  and 
"  that  a  sufficient  number  of  vessels  should  be  hired 
"  with  all  possible  expedition  for  that  purpose." * 

The  die  was  cast,  the  irrevocable  decree  was 
issued.  Let  us  pass  over,  as  rapidly  as  we  can,  the 
harrowing  details  of  the  final  troubles  of  a  mis 
guided  people — far  from  as  perfect  and  amiable  as 
Longfellow,  in  his  beautiful  dramatic  poem,  "  Evan- 
geline,"  has  sung,  or  that  the  Abbe  Raynal,  in  his 
pathetic  and  romantic  narrative,  would  feign  have 
us  believe ;  but  sufficiently  innocent  of  mundane 
matters  to  have  been  happy  in  their  rural  retreats 
— homes  of  guileless  innocence  and  complacent  trust, 

justice  of  the  peace  and  militia  officer.  Appointed  Councillor,  1752. 
Died  at  Halifax,  1769. 

WILLIAM  COTTBRELL. — Capt.  Cotterell  was  the  first  Provost 
Marshal,  Councillor  1752,  and  Provincial  Secretary. 

JOHN  Rous. — Master  of  a  Boston  privateer.  Captain  in  Royal 
Navy,  1745.  Present  at  Louisbourg  and  Quebec.  A  brave  and 
intrepid  officer.  Councillor,  October  1754.  Died  at  Halifax,  1760. 

JONATHAN  BELCHER. — Second  son  of  Gov.  Belcher  of  Massachu 
setts.  Graduate  of  Harvard.  Completed  studies  in  England,  where 
he  became  a  member  of  the  Society  of  the  Middle  Temple.  Chief 
Justice  of  Nova  Scotia  in  1754.  Administrator  of  the  Government 
upon  the  death  of  Gov.  Lawrence  in  1760.  Died  at  Halifax  1766, 
aged  65. 

By  invitation. — The  Hon.  Vice-Admiral  BOSCAWEN  and  Rear- 
Admiral  MOSTYN. 

1  NovaScotia  Archives,  1869,  p.  267. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  A\ 

where  communism  in  its  most  favorable  aspect  ruled 
and  thrived — were  it  not  for  the  machinations  and 
intrigues  of  their  spiritual  preceptors  ;  who,  forget 
ting  their  sacred  mission  and  adopting  that  of  the 
political  demagogue,  obtained  easy  victims  in  the 
pious,  artless,  and  intellectually  deficient  Acadian, 
incapable  of  penetrating  the  delusive  chimera  they 
presented  to  their  vision,  of  French  ascendency  once 
more  in  Nova  Scotia ! 

Self-condemned,  and  without  evasion  or  prevari 
cation,  they  admitted  the  allegations  brought  against 
them  of  allegiance  to  the  French  Nation,  the  open  foe 
of  the  English ;  of  cooperating,  assisting,  intriguing 
with  the  native  Indians,  in  their  more  open  warfare 
upon  the  English  settlers ;  and  thus,  authors  of  their 
own  misery,  they  had  now  to  take  the  punishment 
decreed  by  retributive  Justice,  harsh  and  malevolent 
as  it  may  seem.1 

1  Extract  from  Petition  of  3500  escaped  Acadians,  retired  to  Mira- 
michi  in  spring  of  1756,  addressed  to  Gov.  de  Vaudreuil,  Quebec,  in 
May  1756  :— 

"  The  inhabitants  of  all  Acadie,  represented  by  their  deputies, 
"  have  the  honor  to  expose  to  you  their  melancholy  fate,  and  that 
"  into  which  they  are  ready  to  fall,  if  you  do  not  hold  out  the  hand 
"  of  succor.  They  beg  you  to  observe  that  the  sole  cause  of  their  misery  is 
"  their  exclusive  attachment  to  France,  and  their  character  of  subjects  of 


42  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

Sufficient  to  say,  the  summons  from  Col.  John 
Winslow,  to  meet  in  the  church  at  G-rand-Pre  on  the 
5th  September,  1755,  was  fully  attended  by  the  eld 
ers,  who  were  immediately  made  prisoners,  and 
addressed  in  the  following  terms  :  '•  G-ENTLEMEN, — 
"  I  have  received  from  His  Excellency,  Gov.  Law- 
"  rence,  the  King's  commission,  which  I  have  in  my 
"  hand  ;  and  by  his  orders  you  are  convened  together, 
"  to  manifest  to  you  His  Majesty's  final  resolutions  to 
"  the  French  inhabitants  of  this  his  Province  of  Nova 
"  Scotia,  who,  for  almost  half  a  century,  have  had 
"  more  indulgence  granted  them  than  any  of  his 

"  that  crown,  which  the  English  have  been  unable  to  constrain  them  to 
"  renounce.  Brought  up  by  their  fathers  in  uniform  sentiments  of  devo- 
"  tion  to  their  King,  whose  kindnesses  they  have  on  different  occasions 
«*  experienced  ;  can  they,  without  failing  in  duty  to  their  religion  and 
"  to  themselves,  give  in  to  the  terms  exacted  of  them,  especially  at  a  time 
"  when  France  in  arms  takes  openly  the  part  of  avenging  them,  etc.  Do 
"  not  their  actual  misery,  that  which  they  have  done,  and  their  constant 
'•  refusal  to  obey  the  English,  speak  in  their  favor  ?  And  do  they  not 
"  destroy  the  bad  impressions  that  some  persons  have  tried  to  give 
u  you  in  the  business  of  Beausejour !  Observe,  my  lord,  their 
"  perplexity  at  that  critical  period ;  alternately  intimidated  and 
"  caressed  by  an  English  army  superior  to  the  French  forces,  they 
"  dared  neither  to  act  or  speak.  BESIDES,  WHY  WERE  THEY  NOT  LED 
"  AGAINST  THE  ENEMY  ?" — (Murdock's  Nova  Scotia,  Vol.  II.,  p.  312.) 

The  full  force  of  this  petition  will  be  better  understood  by  refe 
rence  to  De  VaudreuiFs  letter  of  the  18th  September,  1755,  to  the 
Minister  of  Marine  and  Justice,  published  at  length  in  Vol.  X., 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  43 

"  subjects  in  any  part  of  his  dominions  ;  what  use 
"  you  have  made  of  it,  you  yourselves  best  know. 
"  The  part  of  duty  I  am  now  upon,  though  neces- 
"  sary,  is  very  disagreeable  to  my  natural  make  and 
"  temper,  as  I  know  it  must  be  grievous  to  you,  who 
"  are  of  the  same  species  ;  but  it  is  not  my  business 
"  to  animadvert,  but  to  obey  such  orders  as  I  receive, 
"  and  therefore,  without  hesitation,  shall  deliver  you 
"His  Majesty's  orders  and  instructions,  namely: — 
"  that  your  lands  and  tenements,  cattle  of  all  kinds 
"  and  live  stock  of  all  sorts,  are  forfeited  to  the 

N.  Y.  Colonial  Documents,  p.  358.  This  letter  fully  proves  the 
complicity  of  the  Canadian  Government  in  their  effort  to  raise  the 
Acadians  in  open  rebellion  against  English  authority. 

In  the  judgment  of  the  court-martial,  20th  September,  1757, 
upon  the  Sieurs  Vergor  and  De  Villeray  for  surrendering  the  forts 
Beausejour  and  Gaspe"raux,  is  the  following :  "  L'avis  unanime  a 
"  6t6  de  renvoyer  les  officiers  absous ;  on  a  eu  e"gard  pour  le  fort  de 
"  Beausejour,  a  ce  que  les  Acadiens  ont  forc6  le  commandant  a 
"  capituler  pour  assurer  leurs  vies.  Us  avaient,  autrefois,  preti 
"  serment  de  fidelite  a  V Anglais,  qui  les  avait  menace's  de  les  faire 
"  pendre  pour  I' avoir  viole." — (Ferland,  Cours  d'Histoirede  Canada 
p.  556.) 

(Translation.)  The  unanimous  opinion  was  to  discharge  the 
Officers  absolved,  on  the  gr  ound  that  they  were  obliged  to  surren 
der  the  Fort  de  Beausejour  because  the  Acadians  compelled  them 
to  do  so  to  save  their  lives.  They  had  previously  taken  the  oath  of 
fidelity  to  England,  who  threatened  to  hang  them  for  having  violated  it. — 
(Ferland's  History  of  Canada,  p.  556.) 


AA  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

"  Crown ;  with  all  other  your  effects,  saving  yonr 
"  money  and  household  goods,  and  you  yourselves 
"  to  be  removed  from  this  his  Province.  Thus  it  is 
"  peremptorily  his  Majesty's  orders,  that  the  whole 
"  French  Inhabitants  of  these  Districts  be  removed  ; 
"  and  I  am,  through  his  Majesty's  Goodness,  directed 
"  to  allow  you  liberty  to  carry  off  your  money  and 
"  household  goods,  as  many  as  you  can  without  dis- 
"  commoding  the  vessels  you  go  in.  I  shall  do  every 
"  thing  in  my  power  that  all  these  goods  be  secured 
"  to  you,  and  that  you  are  not  molested  in  carrying 
"  them  off;  and  also  that  whole  families  shall  go  in 
"  the  same  vessel,  and  make  this  remove,  which  I  am 
"  sensible  must  make  you  a  great  deal  of  trouble,  as 
"  easy  as  his  Majesty's  service  will  admit ;  and  hope 
'*  that  in  whatever  part  of  the  world  you  may  fall,  you 
"  may  be  faithful  subjects,  a  peaceable  and  happy 
"  people.  I  must  also  inform  you,  that  it  is  his 
"  Majesty's  pleasure  that  you  remain  in  security 
"  under  the  inspection  and  direction  of  the  troops 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  command." 1 

Summing  up    from   "Winslow's  Journal,  as  pub 
lished  by  the  Nova  Scotia  Historical  Society  at  pages 

1  Winslow's  Journal,  N.  S.  Hist.  Soc.,  Part  III.,  p.  94. 


0 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

*72,  185,  190,  192  : — 5Y88  men,  women  and  children 
were,  all  told,  thus  exiled,  from  October  1Y55  to 
January  1756,  with  as  much  humanity  as  the  trans 
port  of  such  a  large  number  of  people  in  small  vessels 
permitted.  Every  care  was  taken  to  avoid  separation 
of  the  families,  and  this  end  was  attained  with  but 
few  disunited  family  groups  ;  the  few  which  did 
occur,  were  occasioned  by  escape  from  capture.1 

The  appended  copies  of  orders  from  Col.  Winslow 
will  be  sufficient  to  show  the  charitable  feelings 
with  which  this  urbane  commander  carried  out  the 
most  disagreeable  duty  (he  so  often  reiterates 
in  his  journal)  it  was  ever  his  province  to  execute. 
"  October  6,  1Y55. — With  the  advice  of  my  captains, 
"  made  a  division  of  the  Villages,  and  concluded, 
"  that  as  many  of  the  Inhabitants  of  each  as  could  be 
"  commoded  should  proceed  in  the  same  vessel,  and 
"  that  whole  families  go  together  ;  and  sent  orders  to 
"  the  several  families  to  hold  themselves  in  readiness 


authors  maintain  that  a  much  larger  number  were 
exiled;  this  is  impossible,  as  Acadia,  in  1754,  only  contained  9215 
inhabitants  all  told,  and  it  is  admitted  that  fully  3540  escaped 
capture  (Cf.  Rameau,  La  France  aux  Colonies,  Vol.  I.,  p.  42)  and  set 
tled  in  Canada  and  that  part  of  Massachusetts  Bay  now  known  as 
the  State  of  Maine.  (See  Petition  Note,  p.  41.) 


46 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 


"  to  embark  with  all  their  household  goods,  etc.,  but 
"  even  now  could  not  persuade  the  People  I  was  in 
"  earnest. — Orders  of  the  day.  Parole  Plympton.  J. 

WlNSLOW."1 

"  CAMP  AT  G-RAND-PRE,  October  13, 1755. — Whereas 
"  complaint  has  been  made   to  me   by  the  French 
"  Inhabitants  that  they  are  greatly  injured,  as  well 
"  by  Seamen  as  People  who  come  after  cattle,  etc., 
"  These  are  therefore  to  direct  that  no  Seaman,  with- 
"  out  the  Master  of  the  Vessel  being  with  him,  or  an 
"  order  in  writing  from  the  Master,  showing  their 
'*  business,  be  allowed  to  pass  higher  than  the  Dutch- 
"  man's  house,  nor  on  the  other  side  of  the  River 
"  Graspereau.      Nor  any  Englishman    or  Dutchman 
"  stir  from  their  quarters  without  orders ;  that   an 
"  end   may   be    put  to   distressing    this    distressed 
"  people ;  and  I  have  given  directions  to  all  march- 
"  ing  parties  and  patrols  to  pick  up  all  such  people 
"  as  disobey  these  orders,  and  bring  them  to  camp 
44  that  they  may  receive  punishment  military ;  and 
"  the  Masters  of  Vessels  severally  are  to  notify  their 
"  respective  Crews  of  this  order.     JOHN  WiNSLOW."2 

1  Windows  Journal,p.  164. 

2  Winsloufs  Journal,  p.  171. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  47 

Provision  was  made  in  the  charter  parties  of  the 
Vessels,  that  not  more  than  one  person  was  to  be  taken 
to  two  ton's  measurement,  and  ample  victuals  were 
stored  for  thirty  days  passage.  Letters  to  the  Gov 
ernors  of  the  different  Colonies  were  handed  to  each 
Captain  for  delivery  upon  arrival,1  but,  unfortunately, 
no  previous  notice  had  been  sent,  though  the  deputa 
tion  had  been  agreed  upon  by  the  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  forces  Braddock,  and  the  chief  instigator 
of  the  movement  Governor  Shirley,  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  who  had  advocated  strongly  since  1745  both 
the  banishment  and  the  capture  of  Louisbourg. 

They  were  landed,  under  these  orders,  in  Massa 
chusetts,  Pennsylvania,  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas. 
Aliens  in  language,  nationality  and  religion,  they 
were  not  very  welcome  immigrants,  especially  from 
the  circumstances  under  which  they  came,  and  yet 
with  but  few  trifling  exceptions,  they  were  humanely 
treated  and  supported  at  public  expense ;   throwing 
into  bold  relief,  the  cold  and  repellant  reception  the 
three  thousand  refugees  who  found  their  way  into 
Canada  met  with  at  the  hands  of  their  fellow  country- 

1  See  copies  in  Nova  Scotia  Archives,  p.  277.  Pennsylvania  which 
received  1923  of  the  number,  expended  over  £7500  on  their  support 
of  public  funds.  (Penn.  Hist.  Soc.  Vol.  for  1858,  pp.  285  et  seq.) 


zl8  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

men,  who  gave  them  hides  and  horse-flesh  as  food, 
and  scant  supply  at  this,  as  many  of  them,  it  is 
recorded  on  the  dark  pages  of  French-Canadian  his 
tory,  died  from  starvation.1 

Politically  speaking,  the  expulsion  was  absolutely 
necessary,  justified  and  in  full  accord  with  the  law 
of  Nations,  to  such  an  extent  that  not  even  France 
itself,  nor  a  solitary  Foreign  Power,  alluded  to  it,  in 
its  diplomatic  relations,  or  remonstrated,  with  Eng 
land  for  the  act.  Not  even  is  it  a  casus  belli  on  the 
part  of  France,  and  yet  many  insignificant  and  tri- 

1  Us  furent  done  reduits  a  presque  mourir  de  faim  :  le  peu  de 
nourriture  qu'ils  avaient,  la  mauvaise  qualite  des  aliments, — 
leur  malproprete  naturelle, — le  chagrin  et  leur  paresse  en  flrent 
mourir  un  grand  nombre ;  ils  furent  forces  de  manger  du  cuir 
bouilli  pendant  une  grande  partie  de  1'hiver,  et  d'attendre  ainsi 
jusqu'au  printemps  dans  1'esperance  que  leur  sort  s'amelicrerait ; 
c'est  en  quoi  ils  furent  trompes. — (Memoires  Sur  le  Canada  depuis 
1749  jusqu'a  1760;  Quebec,  1838,  p.  62.  Cf.  de  Montcalm  en  Canada, 
pp.  111-112.) 

(Translation.)  They  were  reduced  almost  to  death  by  starvation. 
The  little  quantity  of  food  they  had ;  the  bad  quality  of  the  provi 
sions, — their  natural  uncleanliness, — grief  and  indolence  caused 
many  deaths.  They  were  forced  to  eat  boiled  hide  during  a  great 
part  of  the  winter,  and  to  abide  thus  the  coming  of  the  spring,  in 
the  hope  that  their  position  would  then  be  improved,  in  which  hope 
they  were  much  mistaken. — Memoirs  on  Canada,  1749  to  1760. 
Quebec,  1838,  p.  62.  Cf.  Montcalm  in  Canada  (by  Abb6  Martin),  pp. 
111-112. 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

vial  grounds,  as  compared  therewith,  are  specifically 
mentioned  in  the  Declaration  of  War.  Sufficient  to 
show  that  France  fully  recognised  that  England  had 
a  perfect  right  to  treat  her  own  subjects,  when 
disloyal,  as  she  saw  fit. 

Precedents  for  this  deportation  unfortunately  exist 
in  all  epochs  of  the  World's  History.  Analogy  may 
be  found  in  ancient  times,  in  the  removal  of  the 
Messenians  by  the  Spartans,  and  in  the  dispersal  of 
the  Jewish  race  by  the  Eomans.  In  mediaeval  his 
tory,  we  have  that  remarkable  siege  of  Calais  by 
Edward  the  Third  in  134*7,  resulting  in  the  expul 
sion  of  several  thousands  of  the  French  who  refused 
to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance.  After  210  years  Eng 
lish  occupation,  France  reconquered  it,  and  in  turn 
expelled  unmercifully  the  English,  without  the 
option  of  oath-taking  to  remain. 

In  more  modern  times,  we  have  the  precedent  of 
the  French  in  the  expulsion  of  2500  English  Inhab 
itants  of  forty  years  standing, — differing  from  the 
Acadians  in  being  men  of  wealth,  intelligence  and 
culture — from  St.  Christopher's  in  1666  ;  sufficiently 
justified  and  heroic  to  warrant  the  G-overnment 
striking  a  commemorative  medal— -facsimile  of  which 
4 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

is  given  herein.  "We  have  that  vain-glorious  capture 
of  New  York  and  Albany  in  1689,  proposed  so 
artfully  by  the  Sieur  Chevalier  de  Callieres  Bon- 
nevue,  G-overnor  of  Montreal,  to  the  Marquis  of 
Seignelay,  and  adopted  by  the  Court  of  France  in 
their  instructions  to  the  Compte  de  Frontenac.  By 
this  proposal,  it  was  intended  to  capture  these  two 
places,  destroy  the  habitations,  lay  waste  the  coun 
try,  and  "  If  he  find  among  the  inhabitants  of  New 
"  York,  whether  English  or  Dutch,  any  Catholics 
"  on  whose  fidelity  he  considers  he  can  rely,  he 
"  may  leave  them  in  their  habitations,  after  making 
"  them  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  Ms  Majesty.  The 
"  officers  and  principal  inhabitants,  from  whom 
"  ransoms  can  be  exacted,  must  be  detained  in  prison. 
"  Respecting  all  other  foreigners, — men,  women  and 
"  children — his  Majesty  deems  it  proper  that  they 
"  should  be  put  out  of  the  colony  and  sent  to  New 
"  England,  Pennsylvania  and  such  other  quarters  as 
"  shall  be  considered  expedient,  either  by  land  or 
"  sea,  together  or  in  divisions,  all  according  as  he  shall 
"  find  will  best  secure  their  dispersion  and  prevent  them,  by 
"  reunion,  affording  enemies  an  opportunity  to  get 
"  up  expeditions  against  that  colony."  J  Adopting, 
1  Documentary  History  of  New  York,  Vol.  L,  p.  295. 


ME'DAILLES  SUR  LE  REGNE  DE  Louis  LE  GRAND. 


LES    ANGLOIS    CHASSEZ    DE    L'ISLE 
DE     SAINT     CHRISTOPHLE. 

.L'IsLE  de  Saint  Chriftophlc,  abondante  en  fucre ,  en  cabac,  &  au- 
tres  marchandifes ,  eft  une  de  celles  qu'on  appelle  Antilles ,  fituee  dans 
la  mer  de  1'Amerique  mcridionale.  Lcs  Francois  &  les  Anglois  s'y  efta- 
blircnt  en  1616 ,  &:  pour  fe  delivrer  des  inconvenients ,  qu'ils  elprou- 
voicnc  a  la  polTeder  en  commun ,  ils  s'aviferent  de  la  partager  entre  eux 
egalement.  Chacun  jouiflbit  paifiblcment  de  fa  moitie ,  lorfque  la  guer 
re  de  F  Angleterre ,  Sc  de  la  France  en  Europe  paflfa  jufqu'en  Amerique , 
&:  mit  aux  mains  leurs  Colonies.  Le  Gouverneur  Anglois,  qui  le  premier 
cut  avis  de  la  rupture  entre  les  deux  Nations,  voulut  s'cn  prevaloir,  &:  fe 
mit  en  cftat  dc  furprcndrc  les  Fran^ois.'Mais  ceux-cy,  avertis  dc  fon  de£- 
fein,  par  fes  mouvements  &  par  fcs  preparatifs,  ofercnt,quoi  qu'inferieurs 
en  nombre ,  le  prevenir ;  attaquerent  fuccefllvcment  divers  poftcs  quc 
la  Colonie  Angloife  occupoit,  &:  Fen  chaiTe rent.  Ils  ne  fe  decourage- 
rent  pas  mefme  par  la  mort  dc  Icnr  Chef,  tuc  des  la  fecondc  attaque. 
Ils  pourfuivirent  leur  entrcprifc  aufll  hcureufement  qu'ils  1'avoient  com- 
mencee,forcerent  les  ennemis  de  rendre  par  capitulation  leurs  Forts, 
leur  canon ,  leurs  armcs ,  &  demeurerent  feuls  pofl'efleurs  d'unc  Iflc  fi 
importante  au  commerce  des  Indes  Occidentales. 

Ceft  le  fujct  de  cettc  Mcdaillc.  On  y  voit  une  Femme  vcftue  a  1'A- 
mericaine,  ayant  a  fcs  picds  un  Bouclier  aux  Armcs  d' Angleterre,  &  ap- 
puyee  fur  un  Bouclier  aux  Armes  de  France.  La  Legende ,  C  OL  o N  i  A 
F R ANCORUM  STABILITA,  fignifie ,  U  Colonie  Fmncoife  afermie. 
L'Exerguc,  ANGLIS  EX  INSULA  SANCTI  CHRISTOPHORI 
EXTURBATIS.M.DC.  L  x  v  i .  Us  Andois  chajfez,  de  I'Jfle  de  Saint  Cbri- 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  51 

almost  verbatim,  this  same  course,  the  Council  at 
Halifax  puts  into  execution  this  bold,  cruel  project, 
but  against  the  very  originators  of  it. 

Humanly  speaking,  the  dispersal  of  so  many 
families,  at  one  fell  blow,  from  fiiends  and  relations 
(not  without  warning,  however,  for  we  find  the 
English  G-overnment  alluding  to  the  possible  neces 
sity  of  the  step,  so  early  as  the  28th  December, 
1720, *  and  constantly  repeated  since),  was  an  act  of 
refined  cruelty,  our  humane  feelings  at  the  present 
day  revolt  at.  While  reciprocal  policy,  acting 
under  the  Biblical  instruction  of  an  "  eye  for  an 
eye,  tooth  for  tooth,"  may  condone  the  act,  it  is  a 
healthy  sign  of  advancing  civilization  and  good 
augury  for  the  future  peace  and  welfare  of  mankind, 
that  so  many  important  writers  of  the  present  day, 
sinking  historical  truths  and  facts,  in  their  anxiety 
to  condemn  the  deportation,  combine  in  lamenting 
and  execrating  this  sad  event  of  Nova  Scotia  history. 

The  course  of  the  narrative  of  the  expulsion  has 
somewhat  interfered  with  the  order  of  other  impor 
tant  events  as  they  arose.  In  1*754,  France  fully 
awakened  to  the  fact  that  England  not  only  intended 

1  Murdock's  Nova  Scotia,  p.  381. 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

to  maintain  her  position  in  the  wilds  of  America, 
but  likewise  by  sea.  She  equipped  an  armament, 
under  the  command  of  Admirals  Macnamara  and  Bois 
de  la  Mothe,  of  eighteen  ships  of  the  line  and  nine 
frigates,  having  on  board,  ostensibly  for  Canada, 
eleven  battalions  of  troops  under  General  Dieskau, 
an  eleve  of  Marshal  Saxe.  England,  apprised  of  this 
force  being  sent,  despatched  Yice-Admiral  Bos- 
cawen  with  eleven  ships  of  the  line  and  one  fri 
gate  to  intercept  it  en  route.  Both  sailed  about  the 
same  time,  the  22nd  of  April,  1*755.  The  French 
Ambassador  at  London  being  duly  notified,  replied : 
"  That  his  royal  master  would  consider  the  first  gun 
"  fired  at  sea  in  a  hostile  manner,  to  be  a  declaration 
"  of  war/' x 

The  esoteric  instructions  of  the  French  fleet  were 
to  rendezvous  at  Chebuctou  Harbour,  destroy  Hali 
fax  and  then  proceed  to  Annapolis  for  the  same 
purpose.2  While  the  instructions  were  of  necessity 
secret ;  it  was  well  known  in  Acadia  that  an 
attempt  would  soon  be  made  by  France  to  recover 
possession  of  the  Province.  It  was  this  fleet, 
so  eagerly  expected  by  the  Acadians,  that  gave 

1  Entick,  History  of  the  War,  1765,  Vol.  L,  127. 
2Pichon,  Memoires  sur  Cap  Breton,  1760,  p.  264. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  53 

rise  to  the  insolent  manner  in  which  they  addressed 
the  Council  at  Halifax,  and  which  led  to  an  immedi 
ate  removal  of  their  arms  and  subsequent  dispersal. 

Owing  to  misadventure,  some  of  the  French  fleet 
under  Macnamara,  had  to  put  back  to  Brest ;  the 
remainder  met  the  English  off  the  coast  of  New 
foundland  in  a  dense  fog,  avoiding  an  engagement, 
several  of  them  escaped  by  taking  the  northern  route 
ma  Belleisle, — the  first  instance  in  which  it  is  known 
to  have  been  traversed,  and  which  led  to  this  route 
being  preferred  in  the  future — successfully  reaching 
their  "  harbour  of  refuge,"  Louisbourg. 

The  "  Lys  "  and  the  "  Alcyde  "  were  sufficiently 
unfortunate  to  be  compelled  to  face  the  guns  of  the 
English  frigates  "Dunkirk"  and  "Defiance,"  and 
after  five  hours  close  engagement  the  "  Lys  "  struck 
its  colors, — a  sad  premonition  of  the  future  downfall 
of  the  Bourbon  emblem  on  the  coast  of  America,— 
followed  by  the  "Alcyde,"  when  Hocquart  in  com 
mand,  became  Boscawen's  prisoner  by  sea  for  the 
third  time,  together  with  <£*76,000  sterling  in  money, 
eight  companies  of  soldiers  and  several  officers  and 
engineers.1 

1  Entick,  History  of  the  War,  1765,  Vol.  I.,  p.  138. 


54  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

The  unexpected  rencontre  with  Boscawen's  fleet,  the 
loss  of  two  of  their  vessels,  and  the  knowledge  that 
the  garrison  at  Halifax  was  considerably  reinforced 
by  the  forces  brought  out  by  Boscawen ;  caused  the 
abandonment  of  all  attempts  to  recover  Acadia.  Die- 
skau,  after  landing  a  few  regiments  at  Louisbourg, 
proceeded  to  Quebec. 

Eeprisals  by  sea  and  land  naturally  followed. 
England,  with  a  formidable  fleet  of  one  ship  of  110 
guns,  five  of  100  each,  thirteen  of  90,  eight  of  80,  five 
of  74,  twenty-nine  of  70,  four  of  66,  one  of  64,  thirty- 
three  of  60,  three  of  54,  twenty-eight  of  50,  four  of 
44,  thirty-five  of  40,  forty-two  of  20,  four  of  18,  two 
of  16,  eleven  of  14,  thirteen  of  12,  one  of  10,  besides 
a  great  number  of  bomb-ketches,  fire-ships  and  ten 
ders  ;  a  force  sufficient  to  oppose  the  united  maritime 
strength  of  all  the  powers  of  Europe : — as  against  that 
of  France's  six  ships  of  80  guns,  twenty-one  of  74, 
one  of  72,  four  of  70,  thirty-one  of  64,  two  of  60,  six 
of  50,  and  thirty- two  frigates,  had  very  little  to  fear 
by  sea.1 

1  Tomlin's  History  of  England,  Vol.  III.,  p.  198  ;  cf.  Entick,  Vol. 
L,  p.  2. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  55 

General  Edward  Braddock1  was  despatched  to  the 
New  England  Colonies,  on  behalf  of  England,  with 
2000  regulars.  He  assembled  the  Provincial  Gover 
nors  at  Alexandria,  in  Virgin ia,  for  a  conference;  the 
result  of  which  was  that  some  of  the  Colonies  agreed 
to  furnish  money  and  men  for  the  coming  contest. 
This  was  of  no  small  import.  England,  while  rich 
in  naval  resources,  was  sadly  deficient  as  a  military 
power.  Threatened  by  invasion  at  her  own  doors  ; 
trammelled  by  obligations  to  protect  the  family  pos 
sessions  of  the  Hanoverian  King ;  protector,  by  treaty 
alliances,  to  many  small  States,  she  had  as  much  on 
hand  as  she  had  men  and  means  to  make  use  of. 
Without,  therefore,  the  assistance  of  the  American 
Colonies  at  the  beginning  of  the  "War,  her  future 
as  an  American  Power  would  have  indeed  been 
problematical.  But  fortunately  the  Congress,  con 
vened  at  Alexandria,  accepted  the  War  as  their  own. 

With  a  population  of  1,200,000  inhabitants  as 
against  100,000  in  Canada,  a  crushing  issue,  if  har 
mony  of  counsel  prevailed,  could  not  be  long  defer 
red.  Unfortunately,  local  jealousies  between  the 

1 A  man  desperate  in  his  fortune,  brutal  in  his  behaviour,  obsti 
nate  in  his  sentiments,  intrepid  and  capable.—  Walpole's  Memoirs,  p. 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

Colonies  already  existed,  and  State  rights  were  pos 
sibly  even  more  zealously  considered  and  guarded 
then,  than  they  are  at  the  present  day.  Some 
considered  the  War  of  no  interest  to  them,  and 
declined  to  furnish  levies  or  money.  Some  wanted 
a  more  prominent  hand  in  the  management  of  the 
troops.  Some  wanted  to  be  generals  before  they 
were  soldiers.  The  result  was  that  the  burden  fell 
on  the  more  willing  Colonies  of  Massachusetts  Bay 
and  New  York  ;  the  disparity  in  population  between 
the  two  contending  Powers  in  America  was  thus 
levelled,  and  the  War  prolonged  beyond  all  expect 
ation. 

The  operations  for  1755  were  adopted  as  follows  : * 
Braddock,  as  Commander-in-Chief,  was  to  march  from 
Alexandria  with  2000  men  to  attack  Fort  Duquesne, 
on  the  Ohio.  Secondly,  two  regiments  were  to  be 
detached  by  the  Hudson  River,  the  Mohawk  River 

1  It  might  be  interesting  to  note  that  Thomas  Pownall,  Governor 
of  Massachusetts  Bay,  when  upon  a  visit  to  England  in  1756,  laid 
before  the  Rt.  Hon.  Mr.  Secretary  Pitt  the  full  scheme  of  operations 
which  proved  so  successful,  and  which  were  carried  out  as  he  map 
ped  them.  He  further  enforced  on  the  English  Government  his 
views  ;  that  no  peace  could  exist  in  America  until  French  domina 
tion  was  overthrown.  —  (Pownall' s  Administration  of  the  Colonies, 
London,  1765,  p.  245  et  seq.) 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

and  Lake  Oneida  to  Oswego  (a  British  Post  on  Lake 
Ontario)  from  whence  they  were  to  proceed  to  attack 
the  new  French  Fort  at  Niagara. 

Thirdly,  a  corps  of  Provincial  troops  was  to  be 
sent  to  blockade  Crown  Point,  a  post  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  which  the  French  had  occupied  in  force. 
Lastly,  the  disposable  troops,  regulars  and  provin 
cials,  from  Nova  Scotia  and  Massachusetts,  about 
2000  men,  were  to  attack  the  French  settlements  in 
the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and  particularly  Fort  Beausejour, 
situated  on  the  isthmus  connecting  the  peninsula  of 
Nova  Scotia  with  the  continent,  the  result  of  which 
latter  I  have  already  laid  before  you.1 

This  was  the  first  determined  scheme  of  operations, 
adopted  by  unanimous  voice,  having  for  its  object 
the  project  of  total  extinction  of  French  power  on 
American  soil,  which  had  occupied  the  minds  of  the 
New  England  Colonists,  since  1690. 

G-eneral  Braddock,  with  a  detachment  of  1200, 
pushed  on  in  advance  of  the  main  body  of  his  troops, 
and  reached  his  bivouac  ground  about  the  8th  July, 
1755.  Though  fully  forewarned  of  ambuscades  and 
surprises,  he  ridiculed  them  and  while  advancing 

1  Prlds  of  the  Wars  in  Canada,  by  General  Smyth,  p.  44. 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

on  the  following  day  upon  Fort  Duquesne,  he  rea 
dily  fell  a  victim  to  his  own  rashness  from  a  force  of 
350  Canadians  under  De  Beaujeu,  and  600  to  YOO 
Indians  under  Athanase  a  Lorette  Indian  and  Pontiac 
(the  celebrated  Indian  Chieftain  of  after  years),  in 
which  he  was  very  signally  defeated,  receiving  his 
own  death-wound  after  five  horses  had  been  shot 
under  him.  Seigneur  Daniel  Lienard  de  Beaujeu,  the 
commandant,  who  had  so  successfully  laid  this 
ambuscade,  a  Canadian  by  birth  and  an  officer  of 
high  intelligence,  spirit  and  promise,  most  regretfully 
fell  at  the  first  onslaught.  Washington  was  again 
in  this  defeat,  and  was  among  the  very  few  officers 
who  escaped  the  slaughter  by  the  Indians  which 
ensued.  Sixty-four  English  officers  and  YOO  men 
were  killed  and  wounded,  while  the  loss  of  the 
French  was  trivial.  The  balance  of  Braddock's  com 
mand,  under  Colonel  Dunbar,  retreated  to  Fort 
Cumberland,  Virginia ;  form  thence  they  joined 
Shirley's  force  at  Albany.1 

The  effect  of  so  overwhelming  a  victory  for  the 

1  ( Walpole  Memoirs,  p.  392,  states  the  English  loss  was  thirty  offi 
cers  killed,  thirty  wounded ;  300  men  killed.  There  was  no  scalp 
ing,  no  torture,  no  pursuit,  and  that  not  more  than  fifty  of  the  enemy 
were  slain.) 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

French,  on  the  excitable  nature  of  the  Indian  led  to 
most  disastrous  consequences  and  more  than  any 
other  cause,  alienated  them  for  several  years  from 
English  alliances.  Their  peculiar  mode  of  warfare, 
that  of  detached  parties,  slaying  and  scalping  the 
inhabitants  of  all  isolated  hamlets,  was  immediately 
carried  out  throughout  the  Pennsylvania  and  Vir 
ginia  frontiers  and  among  the  Moravian  missionary 
establishments  in  the  Ohio  Yalley,  where  scenes  of 
cruelty  and  torture  were  of  daily  occurrence,  many 
narratives  of  which,  well  authenticated,  have  come 
down  to  us  as  evidence  of  this  disastrous  defeat  at 
Braddock's  Fields. 

The  expedition  against  Crown  Point  was  commit 
ted  to  the  care  of  William  Johnson,  who  became 
famous,  in  the  annals  of  British  Canada,  in  subduing 
the  unfriendly  Indians  to  British  rule.  This  gentle 
man,  a  native  of  Ireland,  nephew  to  Admiral  Sir 
Peter  Warren  (the  naval  commander,  in  the  previous 
war,  at  the  taking  of  Louisbourg  1745),  had  long 
resided  on  the  banks  of  the  Mohawk  River,  in  the 
western  part  of  New  York  State.  He  was  very  popu. 
lar  with  the  native  races  and  had  an  unbounded 
influence  over  them,  speaking  their  language  with 


60  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

fluency  and  marrying,  according  to  Indian  rites,  into 
their  family.  The  English  Government  depended 
entirely  upon  his  efforts  to  obtain  alliance  with  the 
different  nations  and  as  a  reward  for  same  and  his 
victory  at  Fort  William  Henry,  Lake  G-eorge,  he  was 
made  a  Baronet  on  the  27th  of  November,  1*755,  and 
was  voted  by  the  English  Parliament  a  gratuity  of 
$20,000. 

Johnson,  in  September  1755,  advanced  with  1200 
men  to  Fort  William  Henry,  where  he  was  unex 
pectedly  attacked  on  the  llth  September  by  Baron 
Dieskau,  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  French  forces  at 
the  head  of  2000  men,  but  successfully  defeated  them 
and  made  Dieskau  (who  had  been  severely  wounded) 
a  prisoner.  He  was  not  exchanged,  and  remained  a 
prisoner  at  New  York  until  the  Peace  of  1763.  In 
this  engagement  fell  Hendrick,  the  celebrated  Chief 
tain  and  Orator  of  the  Mohawk  race,  and  Grand 
Chief  of  the  Six  Nations,  who,  personally  friendly 
to  the  English,  had  joined  them  with  a  few  followers 
the  year  previous.  With  exception  of  the  Mohawks, 
the  Iroquois  as  a  body  were  more  favourable  to 
the  French  until  1759.  In  this  very  engagement 
they  were  on  both  sides.  This  action,  though  decisive 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  6l 

in  favor  of  the  English,  was  followed  by  no  im 
portant  consequence,  as  it  was  deemed  too  late  in 
the  season  to  proceed  against  Crown  Point. 

The  utter  failure  of  Shirley's  expedition  against 
Niagara,  which  reached  Oswego  only  and  then 
retreated  by  Albany,  closed  the  campaign  of  1755, 
which,  on  the  whole,  was  regarded  as  disadvantage 
ous  to  the  English  in  America.  By  sea,  captures 
had  been  made  of  300  trading  vessels  belonging  to 
France,  with  about  8000  sailors,  which  were  brought 
into  the  ports  of  England. 

Thus  ended  what  might  be  termed  the  piratical 
year  1755,  for  in  the  absence  of  a  declaration  of  war, 
conquests  made  could  not  be,  by  the  law  of  nations, 
legitimately  retained.  The  vessels  captured  were 
sequestered  and  cargoes  inventoried,  for  compensa 
tion  to  owners  later  on. 

Adversity  making  strange  bed-fellows,  was  never 
better  exemplified  than  in  the  shuffle  now  proposed. 
Former  hereditary  enemies  were  to  extend  the  right 
hand  of  fellowship  and  work  hand  and  glove  in 
crushing  their  former  allies.  The  political  map  of 
Europe  was,  pro  tempore,  to  be  completely  metamor 
phosed. 


62  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

France,  feeling  her  'inferiority  by  sea,  deter 
mined  to  attack  England  through  her  King, 
George  II.,  in  his  personal  property  of  Hanover. 
She  at  once  dispatched  an  army  of  200,000 
men  to  invade  this  territory.  England  seeking  an 
ally,  found  one  in  Prussia,  who  had  become  estranged 
from  her  of  recent  years ;  her  former  ally,  Austria, 
withdrawing  from  the  treaty  obligations  entered 
into  with  England,  on  the  pretext  that  the  war  had 
begun  in  America,  in  which  she  had  no  interest. 
Austria  then  joined  France,  and  was  only  too  glad 
to  form  an  alliance  with  so  powerful  a  military 
nation,  who  could  assist  her  against  Prussia  in  re 
conquering  from  the  Fatherland  the  Province  of 
Silesia,  lost  in  the  last  war.  France  also  obtained 
Russia,  Sweden  and  Poland  as  allies ;  all  were  until 
recently  her  open  enemies,  and  enemies  to  each 
other.  Thus  the  parties  were  ripe  for  the  great 
War  of  the  Seven  Years,  destined  to  encircle  the 
world  in  fire  and  brimstone,  and  which  was  form 
ally  proclaimed  by  England  on  the  18th  of  May, 
1*756,  and  by  France  in  June  following,  the  en 
croachments  in  America  being  the  burden  of  both 
declarations. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  63 

Prussia  was  the  chief  seat  of  battle  in  Europe ; 
Canada  and  the  West  Indies  in  America ;  India  in 
Asia.  England  played  but  a  secondary  part  on  the 
European  side ;  the  heat  of  her  battle  being  felt  by 
France  in  America  and  the  Indies.  With  inexplicable 
bad  judgment  France  neglected,  in  fact  abandoned 
her  colonies,  and  devoted  her  attention  to  the 
European  conflict,  in  which  she  eventually  gained 
nothing. 

The  Court  of  France  was  singularly  constituted  at 
the  inception  of  this  war.  Louis  XV.  had  all  along 
his  career  abandoned  himself  to  a  life  of  pleasure 
and  dissipation.  With  the  decadence  of  the  French 
power  at  the  death  of  his  grandfather,  the  youthful 
King,  under  the  example  of  the  dissolute  Prince 
Regent,  never  attempted  to  elevate  himself  above  his 
immoral  and  vicious  surroundings.  The  reflex  of 
the  Court,  being  an  absolute  power,  upon  the  people 
occasioned  an  apathy  for  national  glory  which  was 
truly  lamentable.  France,  careless  of  her  interests, 
gradually  sunk  deeper  and  deeper  her  prestige  and 
priority  as  a  commercial  and  colonizing  power  of 
the  17th  century !  From  1685  to  1712  the  French 
fleets  had  humbled  the  allied  squadrons  of  England 


64 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 


and  Holland  and  for  this  period  only  in  the  world's 
history  she  held  the  supremacy  of  the  seas,  a  legacy 
of  the  great  and  incomparable  commercial  minister, 
Colbert.  But  once  since  was  she  able  to  hold  her 
head  aloft  from  the  debasement  in  which  her  King 
had  placed  her  and  then  only  through  the  means  of 
a  foreigner  and  Calvinist,  the  Marshal  Saxe,  a  vic 
tory  which  Catholic  France  reluctantly  accepted. 
To  Eichelieu,  Louis  XIV.  and  Louvois,  Canada  owed 
its  religious  nationality,  more  Catholic  than  Rome 
itself,  a  nation  in  which  it  was  death  for  an  heretic 
to  enter  ;  "to  live  in  New  France  is  in  truth  to  live 
in  the  bosom  of  G-od,"  wrote  a  pious  Jesuit  Father. 
To  Louis  XV.  all  of  this  was  as  chaff  before  the 
wind,  a  heritage  which  had  no  further  value  to  him 
than  the  revenues  he  could  derive  to  squander  on 
his  mistresses  and  pleasures  abroad. 

The  inanition  of  the  King  had  naturally  an  effect 
on  the  Court.  But  few  men  of  ability  or  self-respect 
would  permit  themselves  to  be  under  the  dictation 
of  the  King's  mistresses,  to  whom  he  had  dele 
gated  all  regal  power.  Already  had  begun  the  con 
flict  between  State  and  Parliament,  which,  as  in  the 
reign  of  Charles  I.  of  England  ended  in  the  complete 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  65 

overthrow  of  the  dynasty  and  the  sacrifice  of  the 
succeeding  King's  head. 

France  at  this  time  was  under  the  control  of  Jeanne 
Antoinette  Poisson,  a  daughter  of  a  butcher,  now  cre 
ated  Marquise  de  Pompadour.  She  was  elevated,  by 
capturing  the  King's  heart,  into  being  the  reign 
ing  absolute  Minister  of  France  and  fully  exercised 
the  powers  conferred  on  her.  Making  and  unmak 
ing  cabinets,  formulating  and  dissevering  political 
connections,  nominating  and  dismissing  commanders- 
in-chief  at  will,  the  Marquise  was  recognized  as  the 
leading  power  in  the  Court  of  France,  her  ambition 
and  pride  being  alone  satisfied  when  addressed  by 
the  Courts  of  Austria  and  Spain  as  "  Ma  chere 
Cousine."1  For  Canada  she  entertained  the  senti 
ments  of  Voltaire,  which  were  equivalent  to  a  prac 
tical  abandonment  of  a  colony  which  they  were 
pleased  to  characterise  as  an  ice-floe  from  the  North 
ern  Pole,  a  country  unworthy  the  sacrifices  which 
France  had  already  made  for  it. 

Canada  at  the  time  of  the  declaration  of  war  was 
governed  by  Pierre  de  Eigaud,  Marquis  de  Yau- 
dreuil  Cavagnal,  a  native  of  Canada  and  son  to  the 

1  Guizot's  History  of  France,  VoL  V.,  p.  197. 
5 


66  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

former  Governor  Phillippe  de  Kigaud,  Marquis  de 
Yaudreuil,  1703-25.  Doubly  a  Canadian,  having 
married  into  the  Deschambault  [an  old-established 
Canadian]  family,  he  was  warmly  welcomed  by  the 
people.  He  had  also  been  Lieutenant-Grovernor  of 
Three  Rivers  in  1Y33.  Having  been  for  some  years 
past  G-overnor  of  Louisiana,  with  which  colony 
intimate  relations  with  Canada  always  existed 
its  chief  settlers  having  immigrated  therefrom, 
enhanced  by  the  consanguinity  of  a  large 
number  of  the  people  of  both  countries,  his 
fame,  sociability  and  popular  administration  had 
preceded  him.  Imitating  the  Court  of  France,  with 
whose  ways  he  was  perfectly  familiar,  he  was  not 
outdone  in  splendor,  luxury,  military  display  and 
expenses  of  every  kind.  G-ayarre,  in  his  History  of 
Louisiana,  YoL  II.,  p.  66,  says  :  "  The  administration 
"  of  the  Marquis  of  Yaudreuil  was  long  and  fondly 
"  remembered  as  an  epoch  of  unusual  brilliancy. 
"  Remarkable  for  his  personal  grace  and  comeliness, 
"  for  the  dignity  of  his  bearing  and  the  fascination 
"  of  his  address,  he  was  fond  of  pomp,  show  and 
"  pleasure ;  surrounded  by  a  host  of  brilliant  officers, 
"  of  whom  he  was  the  idol,  he  loved  to  keep  up  a 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  67 

"  miniature  court,  in  distant  imitation  of  that  of 
"  Versailles  ;  and  long  after  he  had  departed,  old 
"  people  were  fond  of  talking  of  the  exquisitely 
"  refined  manners,  the  magnificent  balls,  the  splen- 
"  didly  uniformed  troops,  the  high-born  young  offi- 
"  cers,  and  many  other  unparalleled  things  they  had 
"  seen  in  the  days  of  the  great  Marquis." 

Unfortunately,  this  was  blurred  by  accusations  of 
malfeasance,  which,  however,  did  not  affect  his 
popularity  with  the  people. 

The  Intendant  General  of  Canada,  or  chief  civil 
officer,  was  the  notorious  Francis  Bigot,  of  infamous 
memory,  who  had  distinguished  himself  in  his  dis 
honorable  conduct  while  acting  as  Intendant  at 
Louisiana,  prior  to  1748  when  he  was  transferred  to 
Canada.  He  had  great  family  influence  and  the 
patronage  of  Madame  de  Pompadour. 

The  command  of  the  army  had  been  invested 
in  Baron  Dieskau,  but  after  his  capture  Louis 
Joseph  de  Saint  Yeran,  Marquis  de  Montcalm, 
Mestre  de  Camp,  a  title  to-day  known  as  a  Cavalry 
Colonel,  was  appointed  Commander-in-Chief.  Upon 
his  arrival,  Canada  had  an  available  force  of  4200 
regulars,  augmented  later  on  by  1000  recruits,  and 


68  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

15,500  militiamen.  The  total  population  could  not 
haye  been  less  than  100,000  sonls,  including  the 
army  and  Indians.  *  The  New  England  Colonies  had 
a  population  of  1,200,000,  with  an  available  military 
force  of  60,000  men,  but  these,  like  the  Canadians, 
were  not  to  any  extent  enrolled  or  drilled.  The  res 
pective  populations  of  France  and  England  at  this 
time  were  twenty-four  millions  against  twelve — a 
relative  proportion  as  existed  ever  since  the  colonies 
were  founded,  demonstrating  a  character  in  the 
English  for  colonizing  truly  remarkable,  born  of  that 
love  for  freedom  and  adventure  the  Saxon  has 
always  inherited  and  displayed. 

Of  the  15,500  Canadian  militiamen,  not  more  than 
5000  were  enrolled  and  most  of  these  were  required 
for  garrisoning  the  three  cities  and  other  forts  during 
the  absence  of  the  regulars.  In  one  respect,  compara 
tively  speaking,  Canada  possessed  a  more  serviceable 
militia  force  than  the  Americans,  inasmuch  as  almost 


1  Rameau,  La,  France  aux  Colonies,  Vol.  II.,  p.  82,  puts  the  popula 
tion  at  about  71,000  souls,  including  5000  voyageurs  and  hunters,  4200 
regulars,  and  15,500  militia,  but  omits  all  mention  of  the  domicil- 
iated  Indians,  fully  15,000  strong!  Being  converted  and  civilized, 
they  were  as  useful  militiamen  and  guides  as  the  habitants.  Dus- 
sieux,  in  Le  Canada,  p.  213,  says  82,000  souls. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  60 

every  man  was  by  nature  a  sharp-shooter,  by  occu 
pation  a  hunter,  after  he  was  old  enough  to  handle  a 
gun,  while  the  land  was  tilled  and  the  hand  of  the 
plow  was  served  by  the  Habitant  Dame,  the  equal  of 
her  husband  in  husbandry,  thus  leaving  him  to  the 
service  of  his  country  and  martial  fame. 

Montcalm,  upon  his  arrival,  had  not  a  larger  avail 
able  force  than  8000  men  in  all. *  Other  authorities 
place  the  regulars  at  5300,  with  2000  militiamen 
enrolled. 2  His  staff  consisted  of  the  Chevalier  de 
Levis  (Brigadier),  afterwards  Field  Marshal  the 
Duke  of  Levis  (a  member  of  a  very  ancient  Langue- 
doc  family  enjoying  great  influence  in  France),  who 
was  second  in  command  ;  De  Bourlamaque  (Colonel 
of  Infantry)  third  in  command,  with  De  Bougainville 
(Captain  of  Dragoons)  as  Aide-de-Camp. 

The  Indian  allies,  undomiciliated  and  savage, 
were  not  at  any  time  to  be  depended  upon — success 
would  bring  a  large  number  to  the  front,  but  dis 
aster  would  call  as  quick  a  desertion.  They  were 
lorn  politicians  and  diplomats.  Excellent  skirmishers, 
they  were  useful  as  auxiliaries,  but  never  could  be 
depended  upon  for  regular  support.  For  reasons 

1  Montcalm  en  Canada,  Martin,  p.  18. 
2De  Bonnechose,  Montcalm,  p.  31. 


70  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

before  stated,  the  Canadians  had  more  material 
assistance  from  them  throughout  the  campaign  than 
the  English.  At  one  time  they  numbered  as  many 
as  3000  in  their  support,  but,  as  a  rule,  they  seldom 
assisted  in  bodies  of  over  500  to  600  strong. 

G-OY.  "Wm.  Shirley,  who  was  one  of  the  Commission 
ers  engaged  at  Paris  in  the  vain  effort  to  settle  what 
was  meant  by  the  cession  of  Acadia  to  England  by 
the  Treaty  of  Utrecht  and  that  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  had 
been  recalled  and  re-assumed  the  government  of  Mas 
sachusetts.  Being  the  senior  officer,  upon  the  death 
of  Braddock  he  became  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
Forces,  a  position  for  which  he  was  not  adapted  by 
military  knowledge.  Making  plots  and  plans  on 
paper  are  vastly  different  to  carrying  them  out  in  the 
field ;  hence,  his  military  schemes  for  the  season  of 
1756  were  grand  in  conception  and  theory,  but  dis 
astrous  failures  in  practice.  Ten  thousand  men  were 
to  advance  against  Crown  Point— 6000  for  service  on 
Lake  Ontario,  3000  for  an  attack  on  Fort  Duquesne 
and  2000  to  advance  up  the  Eiver  Kennebec,  destroy 
the  settlement  adjoining  the  Chaudiere  and  descend 
ing  the  mouth  of  that  river  within  three  miles  of 
Quebec,  keep  all  that  part  of  Canada  in  alarm.1 

iMinot's  History  of  Massachusetts,  Vol.  I.,  p.  264. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  ^\ 

While  each  of  these  armies  was  being  put  into 
motion,  the  season  had  become  too  far  advanced  for 
action  at  any  one  point.  Moreover,  the  British  Gov 
ernment,  dissatisfied  with  a  Provincial  officer  being 
at  the  head  of  its  army  in  America,  determined  upon 
sending  out  General  Lord  Loudoun.  While  Shirley 
was  preparing,  Montcalm  advanced  against  the  three 
forts  at  Oswego,  the  terror  of  the  French  in  the  Iro- 
quois  country  and  which  had  been  their  desire  to 
destroy  for  many  years  back ;  they  likewise  com 
manded  the  entrance  to  Lake  Ontario.  The  English 
had  a  garrison  of  1800  men  in  these  divided  between 
Fort  Ontario  under  command  of  Colonel  Littlehales, 
Fort  Oswego  (the  old  fort)  under  Colonel  Mercer,  and 
Fort  George,  or  Rascal,  under  Colonel  Schuyler,  about 
a  mile  distant  from  each  other.  Montcalm,  with  his 
army  of  2000  regulars  and  2500  militia  and  Indians, 
crossed  the  lake  from  Fort  Frontenac  on  the  12th  of 
August  and  without  much  opposition  captured  the 
two  former  forts,  the  "  chamade"  being  beat  for  want 
of  proper  generalship.  Fort  George  also  succumbed. 
The  garrison  under  Colonel  Littlehales  surrendered 
and  were  immediately  transported  as  prisoners  to 
Montreal;  the  commander,  Colonel  Mercer,  having 


72  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

fallen  at  the  outset.  The  naval  force  of  eight  ves 
sels,  mounting  sixty-eight  guns,  under  Commodore 
Bradley,  were  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  but  were  of 
very  little  service  in  defence  of  the  forts.  They 
were  included  in  the  capitulation. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  intrepidity  displayed 
throughout  this  war,  I  would  specially  mention 
that  a  body  of  2500  Canadians  and  Indians  swam 
across  the  river,  under  a  heavy  fire,  to  prevent  com 
munication  being  had  by  land  with  Colonel  Schuyler 
at  Fort  Greorge — an  act  of  daring  and  valor  nothing 
but  a  native-born  patriotism  could  engender. 

No  sooner  was  Montcalm  in  possession  of  the 
three  forts  at  Oswego  than,  with  admirable  policy, 
and  an  excellent  speech  upon  English  aggressiveness 
and  duplicity  in  dealing  with  the  Indians,  he  de 
molished  them  in  presence  of  his  Indians  allies,  in 
whose  country  they  had  been  erected,  and  whose 
suspicions  they  had  excited. *  Before  leaving  the 
ground  of  his  victory, — this  being  his  first  conquest 
— he  had  a  column  erected,  upon  which  he  placed 

1  Holmes'  American  Annals,  1813,  Vol.  II.,  p.  127.  Minot  and 
Mante",  with  Williamson's  Life  and  Pouchot's  Memoirs,  all  contempo 
rary  authors  (Williamson  and  Pouchot  being  present  at  the  engage 
ment),  agree  with  the  above  version. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  73 

the  Shield  of  France,  with  the  inscription, 
"  Manibus  date"  lilia  plenis," 

a  legend  which  was  not  destined  to  be  fulfilled.1 

Shirley  was  much  blamed  for  this  defeat  and  the 
failure  of  his  projects,  and  lost  both  his  government 
and  command,  being  succeeded  by  John  Campbell, 
fourth  Earl  of  Loudoun,  Baron  Mauchlaw,  one  of  the 
sixteen  Peers  of  Scotland,  with  General  Abercromby 
as  second  in  command — both  notorious  for  previous 
incompetency, — the  former  the  hero  of  the  retreat 
from  Inverness  in  1745.  They  were  sent  out  with 
considerable  reinforcements,  and  had  transferred  to 
them  by  Shirley  16,000  men  in  the  field,  of  whom 
6000  were  regulars,  but  with  that  masterly  inactiv 
ity  and  indecision  for  which  Loudoun  was  most 
renowned,  no  further  movement  was  made  this  year. 
The  year  1757  was  not  distinguished  by  any  mili 
tary  movements  of  much  moment.  It  was  intended 
to  attack  Louisbourg,  Cape  Breton,  and  with  this 

1  An  enormous  amount  of  stores  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
French,  viz.,  135  pieces  of  artillery,  1070  musquets,  23,000  pounds 
gunpowder,  8000  pounds  musquet  balls,  2950  cannon  balls,  450 
bombs,  1476  grenades,  twelve  months  provisions  for  4000  men,  and 
18,954  livres  in  money. —  Williamsons  Life,  Lond.,  1759,  p.  87. 


74  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

object  Lord  Loudoun  reached  Halifax  on  the  llth 
of  July  with  6000  regulars  and  was  met  with 
fresh  arrivals  from  England  of  5000  British  troops 
under  G-eorge  Viscount  Howe,  a  squadron  of  sixteen 
ships  of  the  line  and  eight  frigates,  under  Admi 
ral  Holbourn. *  After  the  force  was  collected  at 
Halifax,  information  was  received  that  a  French  fleet 
had  lately  sailed  from  Brest  for  Louisbourg,  that 
Louisbourg  was  garrisoned  by  3000  regulars,  exclu 
sive  of  militia,  and  that  it  was  also  defended  by 
eighteen  line  of  battle  ships  and  six  frigates,  which 
were  moored  in  the  harbor.  Loudoun's  apologists 
state  ;  there  being  no  hope  of  success  against  so  for 
midable  a  force,  the  enterprise  was  deferred  to  the 
next  year  ;  the  Greneral  and  Admiral,  on  the  last  of 
August,  proceeded  to  New  York,  and  the  Provincials 
were  dismissed ! ! 

The  renown  for  bravery  with  which  British 
generals  and  admirals  have  been  always  distin 
guished,  was  here  open  to  the  rare  exception  of 
the  white  feather,  and  in  this  war  we  have  to 
lament  the  actions  of  Admiral  Byng  at  Minorca,  for 
which  he  suffered  death  and  that  of  Lord  Loudoun 

1  Prlcis  of  the  Wars,  p.  54 ;  Holmes'  American  Annals,  p.  188. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  75 

in  the  present  instance,  for  which  he  was  justly  dis 
graced  and  recalled  by  the  new  Prime  Minister  and 
Secretary  of  State,  William  Pitt,  leaving  the  com 
mand  with  G-eneral  Abercromby.  Not  only  his 
military  skill,  but  his  courage  and  integrity  were 
questioned.1  Admiral  Holbourn  partially  redeemed 
himself  by  pushing  out,  with  a  part  only  of  his 
squadron,  to  entice  Admiral  La  Mothe  to  give  him 
battle  in  front  of  Louisbourg,  but  to  this  challenge 
the  French  Admiral  did  not  deem  fit  to  comply. 

Montcalm,  finding  himself  free  from  attack,  pene 
trated  with  his  army  of  7606  men2  to  Fort  "William 
Henry,  at  the  head  of  Lake  G-eorge.  Included  were 
2000  Indians.  The  fort  was  garrisoned  by  2264  regu 
lars  under  Colonel  Munroe,  of  the  35th  Regiment,  and 
in  the  neighborhood  there  was  an  additional  force  of 
4600  men  under  G-eneral  Webb.  On  the  3rd  August 
the  fort  was  invested  and  after  a  summons  to  surren 
der  was  rejected,  the  attack  was  begun  and  contin 
ued  with  undiminished  fervor  until  the  9th  at  noon, 
when  a  capitulation  was  signed.  General  Webb  did 
not  join  Munroe,  as  he  was  instructed  to  do  by  Aber- 

1  Murdock's  History  of  Nova  Scotia,  Vol.  II.,  p.  315. 

2  De  Montcalm,  Martin,  pp.  64-97. 


76 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 


cromby's  plans,  some  cowardice  being  attributed  to 
him  by  contemporary  writers. 

An  incident  of  the  war,  which  has  given  rise  to  a 
great  deal  of  controversy  and  ill- feeling  up  to  the 
present  moment,  was  the  so-called  massacre  at  Fort 
William  Henry,  the  outcome  of  the  numerous  horde 
of  savages  the  French  had  as  allies  in  the  engage 
ment. 

The  natives  of  America,  like  their  prototype  the 
Arab  of  the  Desert,  have  always  been  noted  for  their 
love  of  spoliation  ;  it  is,  therefore,  not  surprising  that 
their  opportunity  for  looting  having  been  prevented 
by  the  surrender,  they  took  the  law  into  their  own 
hands  and  committed  the  depredations  of  which 
De  Montcalm  and  his  officers  have  been  unjustly 
accused. 

On  the  morning  following  the  surrender,  the 
garrison  was  to  march  out  under  a  proper  escort  to 
protect  them  from  injury  at  the  hands  of  the  Indians. 
The  evacuation  had  barely  commenced,  when  a  repe 
tition  of  the  looting  of  the  day  previous,  which 
ensued  immediately  after  the  capitulation  had  been 
signed,  was  attempted.  An  effort  being  made  by  the 
escort  to  stop  it,  some  drunken  Indians  attacked  the 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  77 

defile,  which  resulted  in  the  murdering  and  scalping 
some  sixty  or  seventy  of  the  prisoners  ;  maltreating 
and  robbing  a  large  number  of  others. 

Upon  a  careful  investigation  of  the  contemporary 
authorities,  no  blame  whatever  can  be  attached  to  the 
good  fame  of  the  brave  and  humane  Montcalm  or  De 
Levis.  True  it  is,  the  articles  of  capitulation  guar 
anteed  a  sufficient  escort  to  protect  the  surrendered 
garrison  from  the  fury  of  the  Indians  and  while  the 
sufficiency  of  it  may  be  open  to  question,  it  cannot 
be  denied  that  a  guard  of  500,  under  ordinary  cir 
cumstances,  would  have  sufficed.  It  was  clearly  the 
duty  of  the  English  commander  to  have  refused  to 
open  the  gates  unless  he  was  satisfied  ample  protec 
tion  was  accorded.  The  escort,  no  doubt,  had 
become  panic-stricken  at  the  ferocity  of  the  attack, 
and  the  officer  in  charge,  St.  Luc  de  la  Corne,  a 
Canadian,  whether  from  incompetence  or  national 
prejudice,  did  not  enforce  in  time  the  authority  he 
should  have  exercised  ;  but  it  must  also  be  remem 
bered  that  2000  Indians  under  the  influence  of 
liquor  are  not  to  be  governed  by  friend  or  foe,  and 
while  possibly  some  blame  may  be  attached  to  the 
officers  in  charge  of  the  escort,  none  whatever  can  be 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

to  G-eneral  Montcalm  or  De  Levis,  who  were  at  a  con 
siderable  distance  from  the  scene  of  the  revolt.  They 
hastened  back  and  distinguished  themselves  here, 
as  they  did  throughout  the  war — notably  at  Oswego, 
where  the  Indians  were  with  the  utmost  difficulty 
restrained  by  Montcalm,  personally,  from  making  a 
similar  attack  under  very  similar  circumstances — as 
military  officers  without  a  peer  in  any  army  for  courage, 
genius,  heroism  and  humanity  wherever  they  could  be 
exercised.  "  Kill  me,  but  spare  those  under  my  pro 
tection,"  was  the  thrilling  cry  of  Montcalm,  heard 
above  the  din  of  the  savage  war-whoop ;  while, 
sword  in  hand,  he  penetrated  the  savage  horde  and 
protected  a  band  of  women  and  children  from 
massacre.1 

Fort  G-eorge,  or  "William  Henry,  as  it  was  indiffer 
ently  called,  like  its  compeer  Fort  Oswego,  was 

lrThe  event  was  greatly  magnified  by  contemporary  writers,  but 
the  facts  seem  to  me  to  be  in  a  mean  between  the  outrageous  state 
ments  of  Captain  Carver  and  the  Jesuit  Roubaud,  as  evidenced  by 
the  moderate  statements  of  chroniclers  of  the  time,  such  as  Pouchot 
in  his  Memoirs  (p.  105,  Vol.  I.,  original  edition);  Mante",  History  of 
the  late  War,  1772  (p.  95) ;  Hutchinson's  History  of  Massachusetts  Say, 
Vol.  III.,  Lond.,  1828,  p.  60:  "  The  prisoners  acknowledged  that  the 
"  French  strove  to  restrain  the  Indians,  but  were  overpowered" — Minot's. 
History  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  Bancroft,  Vol.  H, 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  79 

razed  to  the  ground  and  the  army  retreated  into 
their  winter  quarters  at  Montreal. 

The  termination  of  the  year  left  the  French  mas 
ters  of  Lakes  Champlain  and  G-eorge,  together  with 
the  chain  of  great  lakes  connecting  the  St.  Law 
rence  with  the  Mississippi ;  also  the  undisturbed 
possession  of  all  the  country  in  dispute  west  of  the 
Alleghany  Mountains. 

The  destruction  of  the  forts  at  Oswego  and  Wil 
liam  Henry  left  an  impression  of  superiority  of  the 
French  nation  on  the  minds  of  the  Indians,  which 
took  years  to  eradicate.  In  fact,  notwithstanding 
the  ultimate  victory  of  the  English,  Pontiac's  war, 
which  ensued  after  the  Peace  of  1^63,  may  be  clearly 
traceable  to  these  victories. *  Circumstances  had 
hitherto  forced  on  the  French  the  offensive,  but  only 
with  the  object  of  protecting  their  own  frontiers. 
All  this  was  now  to  change,  and  acting  entirely  on 
the  defensive,  they  were  to  lose  with  greater  rapid 
ity,  in  the  space  of  two  short  seasons,  all  that  they 
had  so  easily  acquired  before  by  genius,  military  skill 
and  prowess. 

With    a   more    vigorous    hand    Pitt    determined 

1  Bee  PouchoCs  Memoirs,  Yvertfon,  orig.  edit,,  Vol.  I.,  p.  80, 


80  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

to  act.  "  My  Lord,  I  am  sure  I  can  save  this 
country,  and  no  one  else  can,"  was  the  egotistic, 
bold,  yet  true  assertion  of  William  Pitt  in  his 
opening  speech  in  the  House  of  Commons  upon 
announcing  his  method  of  conducting  the  war  in  the 
future.1  True  to  his  word,  his  method  was  a  radi 
cal  change — he  wished  to  aggrandize  Britain  in  gen. 
eral,  but  thought  not  of  obliging  or  benefiting  indi 
viduals  ;  the  day  of  the  men  characterized  so  aptly 
by  the  King  as  "  Apres  diner — la  moutarde,  "people  such 
as  the  Mordaunts,  Conways,  Cornwallises,  Abercrom- 
bies,  Byngs  and  Loudouns,  was  over ;  none  but  sol 
diers  of  recognized  ability  and  bravery  were  to  con 
trol  the  forces  of  England.  His  first  selection  could 
not  have  been  more  sapient.  He  returned  to  the 
St.  Lawrence,  Admiral  Boscawen  accompanied  by 
G-enerals  Amherst  and  Wolfe,  three  names  which 
must  always  take  precedence  in  the  rank  of  Eng 
land's  greatest  heroes,  as  they  must  and  will  live 
for  ever  in  the  annals  of  Canadian  history  as  having 
accomplished  its  greatest  political  regeneration. 

On  the   2nd  June  1758,  there    anchored  in  the 
Bay  of  G-abarus,  about  one  mile  and  a  half  to  the 

1  Walpole's  Memoirs  of  George  II,  Vol.  II.,  p.  271. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  8 1 

westward  of  Lonisbourg,  15*7  vessels  ;  but  of  these 
twenty-three  only  were  ships  of  the  line,  with  eigh 
teen  frigates.  The  force  consisted  of  12,260  men,  under 
the  control  of  the  three  officers  before  mentioned. 

Louisbourg,  the  pride  of  France  in  North  America, 
was  garrisoned  by  3080  regular  troops,  300  militia 
formed  of  the  inhabitants  and  750  Canadians  and 
Indians,1  under  the  command  of  the  Chevalier 
Drucourt,  and  I  may  add,  without  doing  him  any 
injustice,  his  brave  wife,  who  daily  inspirited  the 
forces  to  increased  exertions.  The  marine  service 
consisted  of  five  ships  of  the  line  and  seven  frigates 
with  3,000  men,  mounting  544  guns.  The  fortifica 
tions  had  cost  France  over  thirty  million  francs  to 
build,  and  were  deemed  almost  impregnable.  Over 
twenty-five  years  constant  labor  had  been  expended 
on  them,  and  during  this  period  they  had  been  but 
once  assailed,  when  it  took  over  six  weeks  constant 
attack  from  an  overwhelming  force,  naval  and  mili 
tary,  before  the  garrison  surrendered  and  then  only, 
it  is  alleged,  from  mutiny  within  it.  The  little 
damage  done  had  been  repaired  when  they  again 

1  Dussieux  (Le  Canada,  p.  190)  says  7000  soldiers  in  all ;  but  his 
distribution  of  them  would  imply  a  force  of  over  10,000  men, 
including  Marines. 

6 


82  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

reverted  to  France  at  the  Peace  of  1*748,  and  were 
now  in  first  class  condition. 

The  fortifications  formed  a  circuit  of  nearly  two 
miles,  with  four  bastions,  a  citadel,  and  batteries  at 
every  available  point,  mounting  221  cannon  and 
eighteen  mortars.  The  coast  line,  a  craggy  shore, 
with  a  restless  surge  beating  against  steep,  perpen 
dicular  hills  and  barbed  rocks,  apparently  as  inac 
cessible  as  the  great  engineering  masterwork  itself, 
was  covered  with  earthworks  and  concealed  batteries 
at  every  prominent  position,  while  the  harbor  was 
protected  by  three  special  batteries  and  two  inner 
ones,  all  armed  to  the  teeth,  as  uninviting  a  spot  for 
an  enemy  to  try  to  enter  as  it  was  possible  for 
nature  and  man  together  to  make. 

Such  was  the  result  of  the  reconnoitre  exposed  to 
the  view  of  the  three  General  Officers  upon  their  ar 
rival.  Even  the  brave  Wolfe  hesitated  to  make  the 
attempt  to  land  ;  but,  upon  the  advice  of  Boscawen, 
who,  as  Pitt  said,  "  never  turned  his  face  from  dan 
ger,  always  being  full  of  expedients  and  who  knew 
not  the  meaning  of  the  word  '  failure,'  "  Wolfe  was 
induced,  after  waiting  six  days  for  the  wind  to  fall, 
to  take  to  the  boats  and  lead  off  in  the  effort. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  83 

The  unfriendly  surf  and  the  too  warm  reception 
accorded  to  him  by  those  on  the  heights,  tried  his 
courage  to  the  utmost,  despairing  of  his  chances  of 
success  while  the  high  wind  prevailed,  he  felt  con 
strained  to  beat  a  retreat ;  but  he  had  no  sooner  done 
so  than,  regretting  the  step,  with  characteristic  valor, 
he  turned  it  into  an  effectual  ruse  to  cover  a  further 
attempt  at  a  landing,  a  short  distance  off,  which  he 
saw  a  possibility  of  obtaining.  Wading  in  surf  to 
their  waist,  they  were  successful,  to  the  surprise  and 
dismay  of  the  enemy,  who  were  totally  unprepared 
for  the  act  of  military  daring  and  superhuman  cour 
age  the  attempt  entailed.  Surrounded  by  a  hail-storm 
of  bullets,  the  valorous  Wolfe  maintained  his  ground 
behind  the  protecting  aegis  of  rocks  until  he  was  fol 
io  wed  by  the  remainder  of  his  army  and  then  soon  dis 
lodged,  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  the  enemy  before 
him !  This  "  battle  of  the  surf"  cost  the  British  111 
killed,  wounded  and  missing,  and  about  100  boats 
with  ordnance.  The  intrepidity  of  the  attack  which 
followed  soon  drove  the  French  from  each  of  their 
posts  in  succession  ;  abandoning  their  earthworks 
and  hotly  pursued  by  General  Wolfe,  they  took 
shelter  under  and  within  the  walls  of  Louisbourg. 


84 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 


The  historian  Entick  says  :  "  Such  were  the  incre- 
"  dible  service  and  extraordinary  achievements  of  a 
"  day  that  must  be  ever  glorious  in  the  annals  of  this 
"  nation,  and  convince  posterity  that  no  difficulties 
"  nor  dangers  are  sufficient  to  withstand  the  impetu- 
"  osity  of  an  English  army  under  efficient  leaders." 

Time  and  space  will  not  admit  recounting  the 
many  exploits  and  acts  of  heroism  displayed  before 
the  walls  of  Louisbourg  between  the  2nd  June  and 
the  26th  July,  the  day  upon  which  the  fortress  sur 
rendered  to  the  British  arms.  To  Chevalier  Dru- 
court,  without  an  adequate  navy  or  army  to  effici 
ently  garrison  so  extended  a  line  of  fortifications, 
the  contest  was  a  somewhat  unequal  one,  and  to 
him  is  due  the  utmost  praise  for  his  persistent, 
energetic  and  heroic  defence  of  France's  Dunkirk  in 
Canada.  He  surrendered  but  a  ruined  fortress  and 
a  desolate  town,  upon  terms  not  so  honorable  as  were 
usually  accorded,  but  such  only  as  could  be  consist 
ently  granted  under  the  present  intentions  of  the 
English  Ministry  to  annihilate  the  French  dominion 
in  Canada !  Thus  his  army  of  5637  regulars,  officers, 
sailors  and  marines,  were  carried  prisoners  to  Eng 
land,  while  the  inhabitants  of  the  Island  4100,  as 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  85 

well  as  those  of  Isle  St.  Jean  (the  present  Prince 
Edward  Island),  included  in  the  capitulation,  were 
transported  in  English  vessels  to  France.  His  loss 
was  1,500  lives ;  that  of  the  English  400.1 

The  particulars  of  this  victory  were  immediately 
carried  to  England  by  Captain  Amherst,  brother 
to  the  commander,  who  brought  with  him  eleven 
stand  of  colours.  No  more  welcome  intelligence 
had  entered  England  since  the  war  began 
than  that  of  the  fall  of  Louisbourg.  The 
colours  were,  by  His  Majesty's  orders,  carried  in 
pompous  parade,  escorted  by  detachments  of  Horse 
and  Foot  G-uards  amid  kettle-drums  and  trumpets, 
from  the  Palace  of  Kensington  to  St.  Paul's  Cathe 
dral,  where  they  were  deposited  as  trophies,  under  a 
discharge  of  cannon  and  other  noisy  expression  of 
triumph  and  exultation.  Indeed,  the  public  rejoic 
ings  for  the  conquest  of  Louisbourg  were  diffused 

JThe  garrison  and  French  forces,  by  the  majority  of  writers,  are 
put  down  at  2500  and  yet  at  the  surrender  they  all  admit  the  cor 
rectness  of  the  above  figures  I !  proving  that  the  place  was  defended 
by  7137  military  and  naval  men  in  all.  Garneau,  in  his  usual  style 
of  exaggeration  of  figures  and  facts  wherever  the  French  interests 
are  concerned,  an  unpardonable  blemish  on  his  otherwise  acceptable 
History  of  Canada,  states  (Vol.  III.,  edit.  1848,  p.  110)  that  the  Eng 
lish  force  consisted  of  30,000  men,  while  the  French  had  only  2100 
regulars,  600  militia,  while  he,  contradicting  his  own  figures,  admits 
at  p.  118  that  5600  formed  the  garrison  which  surrendered.  See 
also  Ferland's  Coursd'Histoiredu  Canada,  p.  561. 


86  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

through,  every  part  of  the  British  dominions  and 
addresses  of  congratulation  were  presented  to  the 
King  by  a  great  number  of  nourishing  towns  and 
corporations.  A  day  of  public  thanksgiving  was 
appointed  and  services  in  praise  of  the  event  were 
held  throughout  the  kingdom. 

In  the  New  World,  the  importance  of  this  victory 
was  felt  to  be  such  as  tending  to  the  eventual  fall  of 
New  France,  that  the  joy  and  delight  of  the  English 
colonists  knew  no  bounds  ;  finding  vent  largely  in 
numberless  thanksgiving  services  and  prayer  assem 
blies,  the  records  of  which  have  come  down  to  us  in 
innumerable  editions  of  their  most  popular  preach 
ers'  addresses,  which  were  ordered  to  be  printed  at 
the  public  expense. 

The  other  military  operations  in  1*758  were  unim 
portant  in  results.  It  was  intended  to  dislodge  the 
French  from  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  by  an 
army  16,000  strong  (7000  of  whom  were  regulars), 
under  Major-Generals  James  Abercromby  and  Lord 
Howe,  and  to  send  a  fresh  expedition  against  Fort 
Duquesne,  the  scene  of  the  unfortunate  exploit  of 
General  Braddock.  For  the  latter,  some  7000  men 
were  placed  under  General  Forbes. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  87 

The  former  was  not  a  success.  Embarking  on 
the  5th  July,  in  1035  boats,1  at  the  spot  where  the 
ill-fated  Fort  William  Henry  stood  the  year  pre 
vious,  Abercromby  disembarked  the  next  morning 
about  two  miles  from  Fort  Ticonderoga,  or  Carillon 
(as  the  French  called  it),  and  which  he  determined 
to  carry  by  assault.  Here  they  were  met  by  Mont- 
calm  with  2970  regulars,  101  Indians  and  481  mili 
tia.  He  was  subsequently  joined  by  De  Levis  with 
400  regulars,  1600  Canadians  and  Indians.2  From  the 
6th  July  in  the  morning  nntil  the  9th,  Abercromby 
invested  this  fort,  but  strange  to  say  his  shot  fell  short 
of  its  mark,  his  attacks  futile  and  notwithstanding 
his  numerical  superiority,  he  was  defeated  in  several 
engagements  his  brave  opponents  met  him  with. 
Carillon  must  have  had  indeed  a  Divine  protection, 
to  have  saved  it  and  its  garrison  from  instant  des 
truction  from  such  an  overwhelming  force.  Inex 
plicable  as  it  may  seem,  Abercromby  retreated  in  a 
complete  rout  and  most  disorderly  state,  so  much  so, 

1  What  a  regatta  for  Lake  George  and  beautiful  panoramic  view 
this  must  have  been,  with  the  handsome  uniforms  of  the  Royal 
Artillery,  the  27th,  42nd  Highlanders,  44th,  46th,  55th,  1st  and  2nd 
Battalions  of  Royal  Americans  (the  60th),  commingled  with  9000 
Provincial  troops. 

2  Dussieux  (Le  Canada,  p.  331,  et  seq.)  gives  a  force  of  5300. 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

that  had  he  been  followed  by  Montcalm,  he  would 
not  have  escaped  without  a  tremendous  loss  of  life. 
That  Montcalm  did  not  take  advantage  of  his  posi 
tion,  is  a  further  evidence  of  his  humanitarian  prin 
ciples  of  warfare.  The  English  loss  was  1947  officers 
and  men  killed  and  wounded,  including  Lord  Howe, 
who  fell  on  the  first  day,  an  officer  universally  ad 
mired  and  lamented,  and  who  had  already  become 
beloved  by  his  army  for  his  valour  and  respected  for 
his  military  knowledge;  the  French  loss  was  494 
men  killed,  with  about  1100  wounded.  The 
Canadian  militia  loss  was,  in  addition,  eighty-seven 
killed  and  240  wounded.  Fortunately,  Abercromby 
was  immediately  recalled,  as  it  was  to  his  want  of 
ability  and  capacity  the  English  rightly  attributed 
this  striking  defeat.  He  was  fifty-two  years  of 
age,  of  heavy  build  and  lethargic,  and  prematurely 
old  in  appearance.  By  temperament  he  was  wholly 
unfit  for  the  great  heat  incurred  in  the  bush  in  the 
month  of  July ;  enervated  thereby,  it  is  no  wonder 
failure  was  a  result.  He  had  already  expressed 
himself  unfit  for  American  service,  and  eagerly 
looked  for  his  recall. 

To  this  day,  the  French  Canadians  are  fully  justi- 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

fied  in  commemorating  so  providential  and  un 
exampled  a  victory  as  that  of  Carillon,  by 
carrying  aloft  the  "  Drapeau  Blanc,"  the  charmed 
flag  which  shot  and  shell  could  not  penetrate, 
conserved  religiously  in  the  National  Sanctuary 
at  Quebec.1 

Col.  Bradstreet,  with  3000  men,  a  contingent 
from  Abercromby's  defeated  army,  partially  re 
deemed  themselves  by  a  forced  march  upon  Fort 
Frontenac,  which,  being  garrisoned  by  only  150 
men,  capitulated  after  making  but  a  slight  resistance. 
A  large  part  of  the  spoils  obtained  at  Oswego  were 
here  recaptured. 

Forbes,  upon  reaching  Fort  Duquesne,  on  the  24th 
November,  obtained  an  easy  conquest — the  garrison 
of  500  men,  under  De  Ligneris,  recognizing  the 
impossibility  of  defence  against  so  large  an  army, 
satisfied  themselves  by  repeating  against  Bouquet, 
in  command  of  a  vanguard  of  Forbes'  army,  the 

1  For  this  victory,  Montcalm  was  made  Lieutenant- General  and 
decorated  with  the  Grand  Cross  of  St.  Louis ;  De  L<§vis,  Marechal 
de  Camp,  and  all  other  officers  promoted  a  grade. 

A  very  beautiful  poem  has  been  produced  on  this  theme,  worthy 
of  as  everlasting  fame  as  the  victory  itself,  from  the  pen  of  Joseph 
Octave  Cr£mazie,  a  Canadian,  entitled  "  Le  Drapeau.  de  Carillon." 


C)0  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

successful  ambuscade  of  De  Beaujeu  against  Brad- 
dock  and  then  burned  and  vacated  the  Fort  as 
Forbes  approached.  From  these  smouldering  ashes 
and  settlers  from  Forbes'  army  arose,  phoenix-like, 
an  embryo  city  which  they  named  Pittsburg,  after 
the  great  Minister, — a  sole  monument  of  the  Fall 
of  New  France,  which  was  crealed  by  it  and  has 
come  down  unchanged  in  name  in  direct  memento  of 
the  memorable  events  which  contributed  so  much 
to  the  welfare  of  this  country  and  the  French  inha 
bitants  of  the  Province.  Forbes,  a  much  esteemed 
Scotch  Officer,  fell  a  victim  to  this  fatiguing 
expedition,  and  lived  but  to  reach  his  home  at  Phila 
delphia  in  the  following  January. 

The  campaigns  of  1*758  closed  the  career  of 
France  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  in  the  valley  of  the 
Ohio  and  northern  Mississippi.  The  falling  of  Fort 
Frontenac  dealt  it  a  death-blow  on  the  Lakes,  which 
rendered  it  open  to  easy  conquest  in  the  following 
season.  The  outlook  was  dark  indeed,  and  raised 
the  first  cry  from  the  Colony  to  its  Mother  Country 
for  peace,  or  an  adequate  supply  of  forces  to  cope 
with  England,  before  all  were  sacrificed  and  lost.  A 
vain  cry  to  the  heedless,  degenerate  King  who  occu- 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  QI 

pied  the  throne  of  France  under  the  selfish  aphorism, 
up  to  which  he  was  living,  "  Aprds  moi — le  deluge.'"1 

The  census  of  February  1759  gave  a  total  popula 
tion  in  Canada  of  82,000  souls,  with  20,000  men  able 
to  carry  arms. 2  The  Quebec  forces  in  April  are  stated 
to  be  3686  regulars,  1500  colonial  troops,  with  3500  mi 
litia,  and  a  body  of  hunters,  trappers,  Indians,  etc.,  of 
no  fixed  residence,  amounting  to  11,900  men  in  all.3 

The  dissensions  in  the  Colony  at  this  time  were 
most  painful,  the  civil  and  military  authorities 
being  as  much  at  open  warfare  as  the  troops 
of  the  two  different  nations.  The  state  of  society 
at  the  capital  and  other  centres  was  depraved 
in  the  extreme.  Licentiousness,  gambling,  pecu 
lation  and  other  vices  were  the  rule  and  indeed 

1  The  very  walls  of  Versailles,  the  residence  of  the  King,  were 
placarded  with  doggerels,  among  which  were  many  of  a  most 
treasonable  character.  All  more  or  less  pointed  to  the  feminine 
influence  over  the  King,  in  such  couplets  as  these: — 


"  Bateaux  plats  a  vendre.f 

Soldats  a  louer, 
Mmistres  a  pendre, 
Ge'ne'raux  a  louer." 


"  0  France,  le  sexe  femelle 
Fit  toujours  ton  destin. 
Ton  bonheur  vint  d'une  Pucelle, 
Ton  malheur  vient  d'une  catin.' 


t  Referring  to  the  numerous  boats  built  for  the  invasion  of  England,  but  never  used.    This 
scheme  originated  with  Madame  de  Pompadour. — Walpole's  Memoirs  of  George  II,  Vol.  II. 

2  Rameau,  La  France  aux  Colonies,  p.  86  and  notes.     This  would 
not  include  the  regular  army  and  domiciliated    Indians,   about 
25,000  in  number-    See  note,  p.  68,  on  the  same  subject. 

3  De  Montculm  en  Canada,  p.  172.    These  figures  are  clearly  an 
underestimate. 


Q2  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

fashion.  The  Intendant  Bigot,  imitating  his  Royal 
master,  kept  open  court  in  the  valley  of  the  St. 
Charles,  and  not  to  be  outdone  by  Versailles,  had  his 
Pompadour  in  the  person  of  Madame  Pean,  whose 
husband  (as  he  had  not  the  power  to  elevate  to  the 
ranks  of  the  aristocracy)  he  rewarded  by  constituting 
a  sharer  in  his  plunder  of  the  public  chest.  So  openly 
was  this  perpetrated  that  the  people  nick-named  their 
establishments,  both  at  Quebec  and  Montreal,  "  Les 
Friponnes." *  The  G-overnor-G-eneral  and  La  Marquise 
were  participants  in  many  of  these  innocent  amuse 
ments,  as  they  were  then  regarded ;  and  both  had 
become  most  unpopular,  being  universally  detested 
by  the  people  for  pride,  avarice  and  cruelty.2 

Their  conduct  in  Canada  gives  color  to  the 
public  accusations  laid  against  them  by  the 
Intendant,  Michel  de  la  Kouvilliere,  of  Louisiana  in 
1751.  In  his  official  statements  and  declarations  to 
the  Home  G-overnment,  he  stated :  "  There  is  no 
"  question  but  that  the  Governor  is  interested,  for 
"  one-third,  in  the  profits  made  at  the  post  of  Tom- 
"  becbee,  where  De  Grand  Pre  commands,  and  that 

111  The  Cheats." 

2  May  hew1  s  Sermon  on  the  Reduction  of  Canada.    Boston,  1760,  p.  40. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  93 

"  he  has  the  same  interest  in  all  the  other  posts, 
"  nobody  doubts  it  here.  The  commanders  at  the 
"  posts  are  all  Canadians,  who  are  his  creatures,  or 
"  who  are  kinsmen  or  relations  of  his  own  or  his 
"  wife.  Mr.  de  Pontalba,  the  only  one  who  does  not 
"  belong  to  this  gang,  holds  the  Government  of 
"  Pointe-Coupee,  solely  because  he  shares  his  profits 
"  with  the  G-overnor's  lady.  I  have  it  from  his  own 
"  mouth.  Such  are  the  causes  which  increase  the 
"  expenses  beyond  the  Intendant's  control.  There 
"  is  no  discipline  ;  the  most  indulgent  toleration  is 
"  granted  to  the  soldiers,  provided  they  drink  their 
"  money  at  the  licensed  canteen.  It  is  Mr.  de  Belle- 
"  isle,  the  Aid-major,  who  has  the  lease  and  adminis- 
"  tration  of  the  liquor  shop,  and  who  gives  for  it  a 
"  certain  sum  to  the  Major — others  say  to  the  Grover- 
"  nor's  lady  !  What  is  positive  is,  that  Mr.  de  Vau- 
"  dreuil  has  drawn  upon  the  treasury  for  ten  thous- 
"  and  livres  of  his  salary  as  Grovernor,  which  he  has 
"  given  to  Mr.  de  Belleisle,  and  it  is  with  these  funds 
"  that  the  supplies  of  the  liquor  shop  have  been 
"  bought.  Moreover,  Madame  de  Yaudreuil  is  capa- 
"  ble  of  carrying  on  a  still  baser  kind  of  trade.  She 
"  deals  here  with  every  body,  and  she  forces  mer- 


94  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

"  chants  and  other  individuals  to  take  charge  of  her 
"  merchandise,  and  to  sell  it  at  the  price  which  she 
"  fixes.  She  keeps  in  her  own  house  every  sort  of 
"  drugs,  which  are  sold  by  her  steward,  and  in  his 
"  absence  she  does  not  scruple  to  descend  herself  to 
"  the  occupation  of  measurement,  and  to  betake  her- 
"  self  to  the  ell.  The  husband  is  not  ignorant  of 
"  this.  He  draws  from  it  a  handsome  revenue,  to 
"  obtain  which  is  his  sole  wish  and  aim.  The  first 
"  use  which  has  been  made  of  your  Excellency's 
"  order  to  put  a  cadet  in  each  company,  was  to 
"  bestow  these  favors  on  new-born  children.  There 
"  are  some,  between  fifteen  months  and  six  years 
"  old,  who  come  in  for  the  distribution  of  provi- 
"  sions."1 

Certain  it  is,  that  in  the  trial  which  ensued  in  1763 
upon  the  return  of  the  G-overnor  to  France,  while  he 
was  acquitted  and  released  from  the  Bastile,  he  was 
denuded  of  his  fortune,  and  died  broken-hearted  the 
ensuing  year. 

The  Colony  must  have  been  throughout,  in  a 
truly  deplorable  moral  condition,  for  there  prevailed 
the  most  shameful  venality,  the  stream  of  corrup- 

1  History  of  Louisiana,  C.  Gayarre,  pp.  58-61,  Vol.  I. 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

tion  originated  in  and  ran  down  from  the  upper 
regions  of  society.  But  there  were  exceptions! 
Montcalm  and  his  colleagues,  De  Levis  and  De  Bou 
gainville,  openly  refused  to  be  participants  or  coun 
tenance  these  shameless  orgies.  They  thus  incurred 
the  personal  dislike  of  the  libertinous  civil  court  and 
of  its  chiefs,  the  GJ-overnor  and  Intendant.  Matters 
had  come  to  such  an  open  rupture  that  Montcalm 
begged  his  recall,  while  De  Vaudreuil  censured  his 
conduct  in  his  official  despatches  and  plainly  inti 
mated  that  he  could  not  get  along  with  him  as  a 
military  adviser.  The  Court  of  France,  no  doubt 
with  the  despatches  of  1*751  from  Louisiana  fresh  in 
its  mind,  placed  but  little  reliance  on  the  G-over- 
nor's  complaints  and  commanded  that  Montcalm 
should  remain  at  his  post,  the  G-overnor  being  told 
that  in  all  military  matters  he  was  subservient  to 
the  Lieutenant-G-eneral  of  the  Army,  to  which  grade 
Montcalm  had  been  promoted. 

Accepting  this  command  as  a  favorable  augury  of 
support,  Montcalm  thought  possibly,  a  personal 
appeal  would  now  be  more  efficacious  than  letters, 
and  thereupon  sent  De  Bougainville  as  a  special 
emissary  to  the  Court,  to  lay  before  them  the  abso- 


()6  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

lute  necessity  for  reinforcements  being  sent  at  once, 
as  well  as  provision  and  ammunition  ;  otherwise,  the 
Colony  must  succumb  to  superior  numbers.  This 
appeal  was  very  coldly  received,  in  the  face  of  disas 
ters  France  had  met  with  throughout  the  world. 
Senegal  and  Goree  conquered  in  Africa, — Madras 
and  Pondicherry  in  India, — Martinique  and  G-uada- 
loupe  in  the  West  Indies,  while  the  Army  of  West 
phalia  triumphed  at  Madden.  Everywhere,  save 
in  Canada,  her  armies  were  defeated.  Berryer,  the 
Colonial  Minister,  replied :  "  Monsieur,  quand  le 
"  feu  est  a  la  maison  on  ne  s'occupe  pas  des  ecuries. 
"On  ne  dira  pas  du  moins,  que  vous  parlez  comme 
"  un  cheval,"  repartit  hardiment  de  Bougainville.1 
The  result  of  his  mission  was  to  obtain  326  recruits  ! 
and  seventeen  ships  loaded  with  ammunition  and  pro 
visions,  and  which  arrived  in  the  harbor  of  Quebec 
on  the  10th  May !  He  returned  charmed  with  the 
graces  of  Madame  de  Pompadour,  who  promoted  him 
to  the  grade  of  Colonel.  It  may  readily  be  conceived 
the  distress  of  Montcalm  upon  finding  the  result  of 
this  mission,  upon  which  he  had  built  his  hopes. 

1  Translation.—"  Sir.  when  the  house  is  on  fire,  we  do  not  bother 
"  with  the  stables."  To  which  Bougainville  boldly  replied :  "  We 
"  could  not  say,  at  least,  that  you  speak  like  a  horse." 


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ftJtH-//  '  J  S'r.'t/,  y////' , 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

It  was  clear  now,  Canada  was  to  be  sacrificed  for 
European  prestige, — the  very  provisions  sent  were 
just  one-fourth  of  what  was  required  to  supply  the 
Colony,  as  husbandry  had  been  largely  neglected  of 
late  seasons  and  but  little  was  left  in  the  granaries 
of  the  country. 

Nothing  now  remained  but  to  make  the  best  use 
possible  of  the  small  force  of  regulars,  and  exhort 
the  people  to  the  rescue.  Loyalty,  courage,  patriot 
ism  and  honour  were  not  lacking,  at  least  in  the 
military  commanders  France  was  fortunate  enough 
to  have  in  Canada. 

Summoning  the  people,  by  patriotic  and  religious 
appeals,  exhorting  them  to  protect  their  wives,  their 
children  and  their  goods  from  the  fury  of  the  here 
tics,  a  large  concourse,  about  25,000,  was  obtained 
within  the  gates  of  Quebec  from  youths  of  twelve  to 
patriarchs  of  eighty.  Every  one,  I  have  no  doubt, 
even  Amazons  capable  of  pulling  a  trigger,  was 
there  in  support  of  their  dear  city,  their  reli 
gion,  their  homes  and  their  flag,  in  answer  to 
such  entreating  appeals  from  their  beloved  Bishop. 
With  such  a  multitude  of  willing  workers,  it 
is  no  longer  a  question  of  wonderment  that  within 
t 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

four  weeks  a  chain  of  earthworks,  intrenchments, 
redoubts  and  batteries  were  erected  along  the 
heights  of  the  St.  Charles  and  the  St.  Lawrence, 
from  the  walls  of  Quebec  to  the  Falls  of  Montmo- 
renci,  a  distance  of  fully  nine  miles  in  a  direct  line, 
while  additional  works  of  the  same  nature  were 
erected  on  the  heights  of  Abraham,  extending  to 
Cap  Eouge  and  along  the  base  of  the  cliff.  In  fact, 
every  available  inch  was  fortified  and  protected  by 
fully  17,000  zealous  patriots  who  remained  under 
arms  to  share  the  burdens  of  the  campaign.1 

Such  was  the  vision  of  "Wolfe  upon  arriving  with 
his  8600  men  all  told,2  inclusive  of  the  marines 
(1300),  in  the  twenty-two  ships  of  war,  five  frigates, 
seventeen  sloops  and  numberless  transports,  store- 
ships,  traders  and  other  attendants,  which  cast 
anchor  at  the  Island  of  Orleans  between  the  26th 
June,  1759,  and  the  4th  July,  under  the  command 
of  Admirals  Saunders,  Durell  and  Holmes. 

1  Memoirs  S.  de  C.,  Ferland's  Canada,  p.  586.    Knox's  Campaigns  : 
(A  Priest  says  22,000,  Vol.  11,  p.  165.)      Cf.  Vol.  1,  pp.  309,  318,  326. 
Niger's  MSS.,  p.  13 :    Twelve  hundred  men  in  Quebec  garrison ;  over 
15.000  outside. 

2  Captain  Knox,  Campaigns  in  America,  Vol.  I.,  London,  1769,  pp. 
256-340;  General  Smythe's  Prtcis  of  the    Wars  in  Canada,  p.  71; 
Entick,  VoL  IV.,  states  7000  as  the  full  number  of  effective  men. 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

This  magnificent  fleet  of  1886  guns  had  been  tele 
graphed,  in  its  advance  stages  from  Cap  des  Hosiers, 
near  G-aspe,  to  Quebec  by  means  of  the  ancient  system 
of  telegraphy,  or  signals,  from  ship-masts  and  balls 
erected  on  the  highest  points  of  land,  for  day  use, 
and  by  bonfires  at  night, *  spreading  consternation 
and  the  wildest  alarm  among  the  small  force  of 
regulars  the  brunt  of  the  defence  would  depend 
upon,  the  entire  navy  in  the  country  consisting  of 
ten  frigates  and  six  armed  merchant  vessels,  with 
about  a  dozen  of  unimportant  trading  ships,  in  all 
mounting  about  300  guns,  the  senior  officer  of 
which  was  Captain  Yauquelin,  of  the  "  Atalante." 
To  add  to  the  mortification  of  the  French  officers  and 
army,  the  English  fleet  comprised  many  captures  of 
their  own  vessels,  making  possible  the  well  known 
tale  that  they  were  facilitated  in  navigating  the  St. 
Lawrence  by  displaying  French  colors  on  the  French 
vessels,  sent  in  advance  of  the  others,  by  which  they 
captured  pilots,  who  were  compelled  at  the  peril  of 
their  lives  to  conduct  the  vessels  on  their  route.2 

1 A  system  in  use  in  Canada  until  1844,  when  it  was  superseded 
by  electricity. 

2  Denis  de  Vitre",  a  Canadian  who  entered  the  marine  of  France 
and  became  Commandant  of  "  La  Renomme*e,"  thirty-nine  guns 


100          The  Fall  of  New  France. 

Notably  among  these  was  the  "  Alcyde,"  bearing  the 
same  name  and  guns  as  when  she  succumbed  to 
Boscawen's  prowess  at  the  first  shot  of  the  war  by 
sea  in  1755. 

Wolfe  foresaw  that  he  would  be  compelled  to 
attack  from  the  north  side  of  the  Montmorenci  and 
dislodge  the  enemy  foot  by  foot,  with  three  rivers  to 
ford — the  Montmorenci,  Beauport  and  St.  Charles — 
an  herculean  task  his  small  force  could  not  well 
undertake.  It  had  been  contemplated  that  G-eneral 
Amherst,  who  was  to  advance  by  way  of  Lake 
Champlain  with  his  invading  force  of  11,000  men, 
would  find  the  road  so  open  that  he  would  join 
Wolfe  in  his  attack  upon  Quebec  about  August.  It 
was  therefore  determined  to  abide  his  coming,  and, 
in  the  meanwhile,  to  harass  the  besieged  as  much  as 
possible  by  shot  and  shell. 

Point  Levis  was  occupied  without  opposition  about 
the  21st  of  July,  and  a  battery  immediately  erected, 

was  captured  in  1757,  and  has  been  credited  by  Garneau  (p.  172, 
Edit.  1848,  Vol.  Ill)  and  other  historians  with  having  piloted  the 
fleet  up  the  St.  Lawrence.  In  his  MS.  Memoirs,  unpublished  in 
my  library,  he  successfully  refutes  all  such  accusations,  though  he 
was  threatened  with  death,  if  he  refused.  He  was  saved  through 
Townshend's  intercession,  and  states  that  the  piloting  was  done  by 
Canadian  fishermen  voluntarily. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  101 

from  which  the  storming  of  Quebec,  assisted  by  the 
navy,  was  kept  up  incessantly  by  night  and  day. 
Vessels  were  sent  up  and  down  the  river,  destroying 
the  habitations  of  the  people,  reprisals  for  scalping 
and  other  acts  of  cruelty  daily  reported  to  the  camp, 
but  women  and  children  were  to  be  treated  with 
humanity,  otherwise  death  would  be  the  punish 
ment,  was  the  G-eneral  Order  issued  by  Wolfe.1 
Foraging  parties  most  successful  in  their  expedi 
tions,  supplying  the  army,  for  a  considerable  time, 
with  abundance  of  fresh  meat,  poultry  and  dairy 
produce  ;  belying  the  statements  of  Bigot  and  others, 
that  the  Colony  was  so  reduced  in  supplies  that  the 
people  were  obliged  to  live  on  horse  meat  and  salt 
cod,  and  that  starvation  stared  them  in  the  face.  In 
one  of  these  expeditions,  a  number  of  French  Cana 
dian  ladies  of  the  first  families  were  brought  captive 
to  Wolfe's  headquarters ;  where,  amid  tears  and  pro 
testations,  fearing  ill-treatment,  they  were,  much  to 

1  Knox's  Campaigns,  Vol.  I.,  p.  313, — General  Orders  :  "  No 
"  Churches,  Houses,  or  buildings  of  any, kind,  are  to  be  burned  or 
"  destroyed  without  orders  ;  the  persons  that  remain  in  their  habi- 
"  tations,  their  women  and  children,  are  to  be  treated  with  human- 
"  ity  ;  if  any  violence  is  offered  to  a  woman,  the  offender  shall  be 
"  punished  with  death." 


102  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

their  surprise,  most  regally  entertained,  and  returned 
under  a  flag  of  truce  to  the  garrison  of  Quebec — an 
act  of  gallantry  and  favor  which  did  much  to  cement 
the  feeling  of  satisfaction  and  friendship,  which 
ensued  after  the  Conquest,  between  the  Quebec 
people  and  Wolfe's  army.  The  time  was  thus 
employed  awaiting  Amherst.  Numerous  skirmishes 
had  taken  place  between  the  outposts  of  both  armies, 
but  no  move  of  any  serious  moment  had  been  made 
by  either  army. 

Wolfe  determined,  on  the  31st  July,  to  venture 
an  attack  upon  the  Beauport  heights,  the  only 
important  engagement  which  supervened  between 
his  arrival  and  that  of  the  battle  of  the  13th  Septem 
ber.  The  design  was  to  capture  a  redoubt  command 
ing  the  Montmorenci  and  force  the  French  forces  to 
an  open  battle.  Availing  himself  of  a  high  tide  and 
covering  the  landing  by  a  furious  cannonade  from 
the  three  vessels  Saunders  brought  up  the  shallow 
channel,  part  of  the  troops  landed  and  formed  into 
squares,  but  a  precipitous  rush  from  the  Grenadiers, 
without  orders,  and  a  tempest  of  rain  coming  down, 
caused  him  to  beat  a  hasty  retreat  with  a  loss  of 
443  killed  and  wounded  ;  the  French  loss  being  200 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  103 

killed  and  wounded.  In  the  General  Orders  of  the 
day,  he  blames  the  Grenadiers  for  their  precipitous 
and  irregular  attack  and  attributes  to  them  the 
defeat  which  followed.  He  highly  compliments 
Amherst's  regiment,  under  the  command  of 
Major  P.  M.  Irving,  and  the  Highlanders,  "  who, 
"  by  their  soldier-like  and  cool  manner  they  were 
"  formed  in,  would  undoubtedly  have  beat  back 
"  the  whole  Canadian  Army  if  they  had  ventured 
"  to  attack  them. *  Be  this  as  it  may,  sufficient 
was  shown  by  the  venture  of  the  impregnability  of 
the  French  lines  on  that  side. 

Constitutionally  weak  and  dispirited  by  ill 
success,  disappointment  and  anxiety,  the  summer 
waning,  Amherst  not  heard  from,  the  brave 
General  succumbed  to  a  chronic  malady  of 
gravel  and  rheumatism,  and  was  confined  to 
a  bed  of  serious  illness.  His  brigadiers,  Monck- 
ton,  Townshend  and  Murray,  took  command,  and  in 

*A  view  of  this  attack  is  given  on  the  opposite  page,  the 
squares  representing  the  regiments  above  complimented.  The 
vessels  in  the  offing  are  the  "  Centurion,"  sixty  guns,  on  board  of 
which  Admiral  Saunders  hoisted  his  flag  and  did  considerable  ser 
vice  in  covering  the  landing,  and  two  armed  transport  boats,  which 
stood  a  very  heavy  fire  and  did  very  effectual  service,  their 
commanders  being  complimented  in  the  General  Orders. 


104          The  Fall  of  New  France. 

a  council  they  decided  upon  the  attempt  to  land  on 
the  south-west  side  and  invite  an  open  battle.  As 
soon  as  Wolfe  recovered  he  was  informed  of  this 
resolution,  and  upon  a  personal  reconnoitre  approved 
of  it.  Removing  his  camp  from  L'Ange  G-ardien  to 
Levis  ;  Wolfe,  receiving  a  message  from  Amherst, 
that  he  could  not  carry  out  the  campaign  agreed 
upon  and  that  he  would  have  to  rely  entirely  upon 
his  own  resources,  resolved  upon  an  immediate 
attack,  as  the  fall  season  was  rapidly  coming  on  and 
his  fleet  would  have  to  retire.  He  looked  with 
envy  upon  the  Heights  of  Abraham  as  the  spot 
most  eligible,  but  how  to  get  there  was  the  question. 
Notwithstanding  the  vigilance  maintained  by  a 
corps  of  light  cavalry  and  infantry,  3,000  in  number, 
under  De  Bougainville,  set  to  watch  that  he  did  not 
obtain  a  landing ;  by  a  successful  ruse,  on  the  night  of 
the  12th  September,  Wolfe  with  G-enerals  Monckton 
and  Murray  and  1500  picked  men,  landed  between  1 
o'clock  and  3.30  in  the  morning  at  L'Anse  au  Foulon 
(Fulling  Mill  Creek),  in  what  is  now  known  as  Wolfe's 
Cove,  the  place  shown  to  him  by  Maj.  Stobo. *  Pull- 

1  Major  Robert  Stobo,  in  his   Memoirs,  p.  70,  takes  credit  for 
having  suggested  this  landing  place  to  Wolfe.    Having  been  a 


•t/ii/,-f  /<•/  ////<•/ tj/-  V/. / .    //,i/,: i/ '//, '  •  ' 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  l(K 

ing  themselves  up  the  steep  precipice  of  250  feet 
in  height,  tree  by  tree,  man  by  man,  while  the 
path- way  was  invisible  and  unknown  to  them  they 
noiselessly  reached  the  summit,  protected  by  a 
redoubt  and  100  men,  where  DeVergor,  the  Com 
mander,  inert  and  unsuspicious,  was  captured  and 
his  men  surrendered  after  a  few  shots  only  from  the 
sentinels  had  been  fired  !  1 

The  heights  were  thus  gained  in  a  miraculous 
manner,  in  which  the  hand  of  Providence  was  clearly 
visible ;  for  within  gunshot  echo  was  De  Bougainville, 
with  the  flower  of  the  French  light  cavalry  and  infan 
try,  over  2000  strong,  busily  engaged  watching  the 
antics  and  diversions  of  Admiral  Holmes  ;  a  strategy 
successfully  employed  to  cover  the  noiseless  descent 
of  Wolfe  with  his  advance  guard  of  1500  picked  men, 
who  were  silently  proceeding  to  the  landing  place 

hostage  prisoner  at  Quebec  for  a  considerable  time,  he  had  oppor 
tunities  of  discovering  its  weak  spots,  and  possibly  his  statement 
is  true- 

JIt  has  been  the  custom  to  accuse  DeVergor  of  treachery  but  of 
this,  his  acquittal  may  be  read  in  the  words  of  the  contemporary 
account  written  by  the  Superioress  of  the  General  Hospital  Que 
bec,  as  follows  (translated):-" They  landed  on  giving  the'pass- 
u  word;  the  officer,  De  Vergor,  detected  the  deceit,  but  too  late 

"  wounded  »6d  hlS  P°St  braV6ly  WHh  MS  SmaU  band'  and  Was 


I()6  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

and  evading  the  numerous  guards  and  sentinels  they 
met  on  the  way  by  repeating  in  French,  a  chance 
forethought  that  they  were  bringing  supplies  to  the 
city  ! !  Within  a  radius  of  three  miles,  on  either  side 
of  the  landing,  were  numerous  pickets  and  sentinels, 
below  and  above,  yet  none  alive  to  the  danger  to  their 
country  their  lack  of  alertness  entailed. 

The  vantage  ground  obtained,  the  balance  of  the 
force,  under  Townshend,  from  Point  Levis  joined. 
By  day-break  the  army,  4828  strong, x  was  formed  in 
battle  array,  with  two  pieces  of  cannon  in  the  centre. 
The  position  was :  On  the  first  line — the  35th  to  the 
right,  in  a  circular  form,  on  the  slope  of  the  hill ;  58th 
to  the  left ;  Grenadiers  to  the  right,  78th  to  the  left ; 
28th  to  the  right,  47th  to  the  left ;  43rd  in  the  cen 
tre.  Generals  Wolfe,  Monckton  and  Murray  on  the 
first  line. 2  The  second  column  was  composed  of  the 
15th  and  two  battalions  of  the  60th,  under  Towns 
hend,  with  a  reserve  of  the  48th  under  Colonel  Bur 
ton,  the  whole  drawn  up  in  four  divisions,  separate 

1  Knox,  Campaign  in  America,  Lon.,  1769,  Vol.  II.,  p.  74 ;  Wright's 
Life  of  Wolfe,  p.  580. 

2  The  actual  force  engaged,  which  turned  the  French  column, 
and  to  whom  the  victory  belongs,  were  those  on   the  first  line, 
numbering  2865  men  in  all. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  107 

and  distinct  from  each  other,  and  of  about  equal 
strength. 

General  Montcalm,  apprised  of  the  successful 
footing  obtained  by  the  English,  at  first  could  not 
credit  it.  He  little  suspected  that  the  incessant  can 
nonade  kept  up  by  Admiral  Saunders  throughout 
the  night  on  the  Beauport  Flats,  and  which  had  pre 
vented  him  from  retiring  in  the  supposition  that  it 
was  meant  to  cover  an  attempt  at  a  landing  of  the 
forces  at  this  point,  in  reality  meant  a  feint  to  divert 
attention  from  the  landing  at  Wolfe's  Cove ! !  Only 
too  true ;  there  they  were,  already  drawn  up  and 
coolly  awaiting  his  attack.  Without  thought  or 
reflection  and  overcome  with  surprise  at  the  auda 
city  with  which  they  had  gained  their  posi 
tion,  he  immediately  summoned  the  entire  garri 
son  to  follow  him  to  the  attack. *  In  this,  however, 
he  was  thwarted  by  the  enmity2  of  the  Governor- 
General,  De  Yaudreuil,  who  remained  in  camp 
and  retained  around  him  a  large  body  of  the 

1 "  S'il  faut  done  combattre,  je  vais  les  ^eraser."  "  If  we  must 
"  fight,  I  will  crush  them."— Walpole,  Memoirs  George  II.,  Lon.,  1822, 
p.  386. 

2  Some  intimate  poltroonery  and  incapacity.— C/.  S.  de  C., 
Memoires  sur  le  Canada,  pp.  126, 166. 


108  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

forces, J  while  the  Commandant  of  Quebec  City,  De 
Eamezay,  would  neither  leave  his  fortress  nor  send 
cannon  to  Montcalm's  assistance. 

Thus  Montcalm  had  but  a  portion  of  the  troops  with 
him.  Levis,  his  trusty  right-hand  friend  and  coadju 
tor,  had  been  sent  by  the  G-overnor-G-eneral  with  1200 
men  to  the  attack  of  Amherst  after  the  victory  of  Beau- 
port  on  the  31st  July,  in  which  he  had  participated  ; 
while  Colonel  De  Bougainville  with  his  force  was 
watching  Admiral  Holmes'  by-play,  as  before  stated. 
A  courier,  sent  by  Montcalm,  brought  De  Bougain 
ville  hastily  to  the  scene  of  battle  ;  and  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  he  took  an  active  part  in  the 
engagement. 2  The  actual  force  Montcalm  had  with 
him  in  the  battle  is  difficult  to  determine.  Com 
paring  the  authors  and  dissecting  the  conflicting 
statements  made,  I  lean  to  the  beliaf  that  there 
were  1940  regulars,  5000  militia  500  Indians,  and 

1  Memoirs  of  S.  de  G,  ibid,  p.  165. 

2Knox,  who  was  present,  distinctly  asserts  the  fact,  which 
Entick  and  others  fully  corroborate,  Vol.  IV.,  pp.  116-120;  Mante", 
p.  257 ;  also  Annual  Register,  1759,  p.  41. 

Without  motive  or  design,  the  narrative  of  Captain  Knox,  writ 
ten  at  the  time  from  personal  participation  and  knowledge,  com 
mands  our  serious  acceptance  of  its  truthfulness  ;  it  bears  its  own 
imprint,  and  admits  of  no  denial." 


The  Fall  of  New  France.          100 

De  Bougainville's  force,  about  2000,  making,  in  all, 
9,440  men.  Captain  Knox,  the  eminent  and  im 
partial  historian  of  this  battle,  who  was  present, 
states : — "  The  French  had  now  (Y  a.m.)  likewise 
"  formed  the  line  of  battle  a  straight  front,  six 
"  deep,  and  got  some  cannon  to  play  on  us  with 
"  round  and  canister  shot ;  but,  what  galled  us 
"  most  was  a  body  of  Indians  and  Canadians 
"  concealed  in  the  corn  opposite  to  the  front  of  our 
"  right  wing,  and  in  a  coppice  that  stood  opposite 
"  to  our  centre,  inclining  towards  our  left ;  but 
"  Colonel  Hale,  by  Brigadier  Moncton's  orders, 
"  advanced  some  platoons  alternately  from  the  47th, 
"  which,  after  a  few  rounds,  obliged  these  skulkers 
"  to  retire ;  we  were  now  ordered  to  lie  down,  and 
"  remained  some  time  in  this  position.  About  8 
u  o'clock  we  had  two  pieces  of  short  brass  six- 
"  pounders  playing  on  the  enemy,  which  threw 
"  them  into  some  confusion  and  obliged  them  to 
"  alter  their  disposition,  and  Montcalm  then  formed 
"  them  into  three  large  columns  ;  about  9,  the  two 
"  armies  moved  a  little  nearer  each  other.  The  light 
"  cavalry  made  a  faint  attempt  upon  our  parties  at 
"  the  battery  of  Sillery,  but  were  soon  beat  off,  and 


110  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

"  Monsieur  de  Bougainville,  with  his  troops  from  Cap 
"  Rouge,  came  down  to  attack  the  flank  of  our  second  line, 
"  hoping  to  penetrate  there ;  but  by  a  masterly  disposition  of 
"  Townshend,  they  were  forced  to  desist,  and  the  Third 
"  Battalion  of  Royal  Americans  was  then  detached 
"  to  the  first  ground  we  had  formed  on  after  we 
"  gained  the  heights,  to  preserve  the  communication 
"  with  the  beach  and  the  boats. 

"  About  10  o'clock,  the  French  began  to  advance 
"  briskly,  in  three  columns,  with  loud  shouts  and 
"  reversed  arms,  two  of  them  inclining  to  the  left  of 
"  our  army,  and  the  third  towards  our  right,  firing 
"  obliquely  at  the  two  extremities  of  our  line,  from 
"  the  distance  of  130  yards,  until  they  came  within 
"  forty  yards,  which  our  troops  withstood  with  the 
"  greatest  intrepidity  and  firmness,  still  reserving  their 
>£  fire,  and  paying  the  strictest  obedience  to  their  offi- 
"  cers ;  this  uncommon  steadiness,  together  with  the 
"  havoc  which  the  grape-shot  from  our  field-pieces 
"  made  among  them,  threw  them  into  some  disorder, 
"  and  was  most  critically  maintained  by  a  well-timed, 
"  regular  and  heavy  discharge  of  our  small  arms, 
"  such  as  they  could  no  longer  oppose  ;  thereupon 
"  they  gave  way  and  fled  with  precipitation,  so  that, 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  Ill 

"  by  the  time  the  smoke  was  vanished,  our  men 
"  were  again  loaded,  and  profiting  by  the  advantage 
"  we  had  over  them,  pursued  them  almost  to  the 
"  gates  of  the  town,  and  the  bridge  over  the 
"  little  river,  redoubling  our  fire  with  great  eager- 
"  ness,  making  many  officers  and  men  prisoners. 
"  The  weather  cleared  up,  with  a  comfortably  warm 
"  sunshine ;  the  Highlanders  chased  them  vigor- 
"  ously  towards  Charles  River,  and  the  58th  to  the 
"  suburb  close  to  John's  G-ate,  until  they  were 
"  checked  by  the  cannon  from  the  two  hulks ;  at  the 
"  same  time  a  gun,  which  the  town  had  brought  to 
"  bear  upon  us  with  grape-shot,  galled  the  progress 
"  of  the  regiments  to  the  right,  who  were  likewise 
"  pursuing  with  equal  ardor,  while  Colonel  Hunt- 
"  Walsh,  by  a  very  judicious  movement,  wheeled 
"  the  battalions  of  Bragg  and  Kennedy  to  the  left, 
"  and  flanked  the  coppice,  where  a  body  of  the 
"  enemy  made  a  stand,  as  if  willing  to  renew  the 
"  action  ;  but  a  few  platoons  from  these  corps  com- 
"  pleted  our  victory. 

"  Then  it  was  Brigadier  Townshend  came  up, 
"  called  off  the  pursuers,  ordered  the  whole  line  to 
"  dress  and  recover  the  former  ground. 


112  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

"  Our  joy  at  this  success  is  inexpressibly  damped  by 
"  the  loss  we  sustained  of  one  of  the  greatest  heroes 
"  which  this  or  any  other  age  can  boast  of,  General 
"  James  Wolfe,  who  received  his  mortal  wound,  as 
"  he  was  exerting  himself  at  the  head  of  the  Louis- 
"  bourg  G-renadiers,  and  expired  upon  the  field  of 
"  battle,  aged  thirty-two,  and  Brigadier  Monckton 
"  was  unfortunately  wounded  upon  the  left  of  the 
''  43rd  and  right  of  the  47th,  at  much  the  same  time  ; 
"  whereby  the  command  devolved  on  Brigadier 
"  Townshend,  who,  with  Brigadier  Murray,  went  to 
"  the  head  of  every  regiment  and  returned  thanks 
"  for  their  extraordinary  good  behaviour,  congratu- 
"  lating  the  officers  on  our  success,  While  the  two 
"  armies  were  engaged,  there  was  an  incessant  firing 
"  between  the  town  and  our  Levis  batteries.  By  the 
"  time  that  our  troops  had  taken  a  little  refreshment, 
"  a  quantity  of  intrenching  tools  were  brought  ashore, 
"  and  the  regiments  were  employed  in  redoubting  our 
"  ground  and  landing  some  cannon  and  ammunition. 
"  Montcalm  entered  the  gates  of  Quebec  mortally 
"  wounded,  and  expired,  aged  forty-eight,  at  4  a  m. 
"  of  the  14th." 

Thus  ended  the  battle  of  the  13th  September  by 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

which  practically  Quebec  City  and  Fortifications 
fell  forever  from  the  military  power  of  the  French 
into  that  of  the  English,  though  it  was  not  until  the 
18th  current  that  the  gates  of  the  city  were  open  to 
receive  them  under  articles  of  capitulation  agreed  to 
by  Commandant  de  Ramezay.  The  conditions  were 
favorable  to  the  French,  but  what  cared  Townshend, 
situated  as  he  was  !  Any  would  have  been  accept 
able  to  him,  so  long  as  he  could  gain  possession  of 
the  Citadel  and  thus  cripple,  if  not  end,  the  military 
regime  of  the  French  in  Canada. 

Granting  the  honors  of  war  to  troops  to  be  trans 
ported  to  France,  some  TOO  in  number  (De  Yaudreuil 
had  removed  the  others),  and  the  protection  in  per 
son  and  property  to  the  inhabitants,  with  the  free 
exercise  of  their  religion,  were  easy  terms  upon 
which  to  acquire  the  Capital  of  the  French  domi 
nions  in  North  America.  Neither  Admiral  Saunders 
nor  Brigadier-Greneral  Townshend  felt  encouraged 
by  the  position  of  matters  to  seek  or  ask  better  terms. 
At  every  moment  they  were  expecting  a  renewal  of 
the  battle  at  the  hands  of  De  Levis,  who  had  the 
reputation  of  being  a  daring  officer  and  most  efficient 
in  military  tactics  and  knowledge  and  who,  they 
8 


114         T^16  ^a^  °f 


well  knew,  was  at  the  head  of  a  still  much  larger 
army  than  they  commanded  and  had  the  advantage 
of  position  in  being  able  to  wedge  them  between  the 
walls  of  Quebec  on  the  one  side  and  his  own  over 
whelming  force  on  the  other. 

It  was,  therefore,  with  a  great  sigh  of  relief  and 
irrepressible  joy  they  accepted  the  terms  proposed 
and  placed  the  keys  of  the  gates  of  Quebec  in  the 
hands  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Alexander  Murray,  for 
entry  of  the  army  on  the  morning  of  the  18th  Sep 
tember.  Knox  states  :  "  The  keys  of  the  ports  were 
"  given  up  this  evening  (the  l^th)  to  G-eueral  Towns- 
"  hend,  and  safe-guards  were  sent  into  the  town,  pur- 
"  suant  to  the  Treaty  ;  in  the  morning  the  Louisbourg 
"  Grenadiers  marched  in,  preceded  by  a  detachment 
"  of  artillery,1  and  one  gun,  with  the  British  colours 
"  hoisted  on  its  carriage  ;  the  Union  flag  was  dis- 
"  played  on  the  citadel.  Captain  Hugh  Palliser, 

1  Commanded  by  Colonel  George  Williamson,  who  afterwards 
became  Lieutenant-General.  Knox  highly  compliments  this  offi 
cer,  a  graduate  of  the  academy  at  Woolwich,  as  being  an  expe 
rienced  master  of  his  profession,  especially  shown  by  his  service  of 
the  artillery  during  the  siege.  We  have  reason  now  to  deplore 
his  marksmen's  accuracy  as  having  been  the  means  of  destruction 
of  so  much  that  was  of  value  and  interest,  historically  and  archseo- 
logically. 


SIR  HUGH   PALLISER,  BART., 

ADMIRAL  AND  GOVERNOR  GREENWICH  HOSPITAL, 

COMMANDANT  H.  M.  S.  SHREWSBURY,  74  GUNS. 
At  Quebec,  isth  September,  1759. 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

"  with  a  large  body  of  seamen  and  inferior  officers, 
"  at  the  same  time  took  possession  of  the  lower 
"  town,  and  hoisted  colours  on  the  summit  of  the 
"  declivity  leading  from  the  high  to  the  low  town, 
"  in  view  of  the  bason  and  the  north  and  south 
"  countries  below  Quebec."  Thus  to  Colonel  Wil 
liamson  and  Captain  Palliser1  belong  the  honor  of 
hoisting  the  first  English  colors,  in  token  of  victory 
and  conquest,  on  the  soil  of  the  mainland  of  Canada 
since  the  days  of  Kertk,  1629-32,  to  remain  there  an 
emblem  of  brotherly  love  between  the  Anglo-Saxon 
and  Gallic  races ;  so  long  as  the  flag-staff  of  the 
majestic  citadel-point  of  La  Nouvelle  France  will 
waive  them  in  recognition  of  the  new-born  Chris 
tianity,  that  of  mutual  respect  and  esteem,  the 
conquest  of  Canada  brought  to  both  races 

The  loss  on  both  sides  was  heavy  for  so  short  an 
engagement  (began  at  10  o'clock  a.m.  and  ended  at 
11),  particularly  so  among  the  officers,  proving  the 
fearlessness  of  those  in  command,  even  to  a  degree 
of  rashness.  Both  Commanders  fell,  while  the 

1  The  honors  were  evidently  divided  between  the  land  and  sea 
forces  by  this  selection;  the  portrait  of  Captain  Palliser  being 
herein  given. 


Il6  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

Brigadiers  Senezergues,  De  Fontbrune  and  St.  Ours 
on  the  French  side  were  killed,  and  Monckton,  on 
the  English  side,  severely  wounded.  The  French 
admitted  640  killed  and  wounded,  and  300  prison 
ers,  *  while  the  English  admit  a  loss  of  sixty-one 
killed,  598  wounded,  and  five  missing. 

What  became  of  De  Yaudreuil,  the  Governor- 
G-eneral  of  the  Colony,  all  this  time  !  From  5  in  the 
morning  until  noon,  the  enemy  were  within  sight, 
and  a  serious  battle  was  being  fought,  which  would 
decide  the  fate  of  the  country,  within  two  miles  of 
his  camp  !  and  yet  not  a  move  to  the  assistance  of 
the  brave  Greneral  in  action.  Montcalm's  early  esti 
mation  of  his  character  turned  out  now  to  be  accur 
ate.  In  one  of  his  letters,  he  says  "  he  is  inactive  and 
"  incapable'' 2  History  must  assert  that  his  apathy 
was  largely  occasioned  by  his  personal  antipathy  to 
Montcalm,  in  addition  to  his  military  failings  and 
fear  that,  by  his  assistance,  victory  might  be  his 
rival's  !  No  contemporary  or  reliable  author  men- 

1  Knox  states  these  figures  should  be  1500  killed,  wounded  and 
prisoners,  but  I  infer  he  includes  the  capitulated  force  of  Quebec, 
some  700,  so  that  there  is  not  much  discrepancy  between  the  two 
statements. 

2  Murdock,  History  of  Nova  Scotia,  p.  364. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.          \rj 

tions  any  action  taken  by  De  Yaudreuil  at  this  criti 
cal  moment,  though,  he  himself,  in  his  despatches  to 
the  G-overnment,  claims  that  he  joined  Montcalm 
before  the  battle  was  over,  but  too  late,  as  Montcalm 
could  not  rally  his  men  from  retreat.  This  state 
ment  is  uncorroborated  and  bears  its  own  refuta 
tion.  The  fact  is,  De  Yaudreuil  would  sacrifice  his 
country  to  gratify  his  revenge !  His  excuse  that  he 
was  detaining  his  forces  to  prevent  the  landing  of 
the  British  troops  at  the  Lower  Town,  is  frivolous 
and  unworthy  serious  consideration.  Immediately 
following  the  retreat,  he  desired  to  capitulate  and 
hand  over  the  country  at  once  ;  but  was  prevented  by 
the  loyalty  of  French  officers,  who  refused  to  comply.1 
Walpole,  in  his  Memoirs,  at  p.  387,  says  :  "  Had  Yau- 
"  dreuil  taken  part  and  been  captured,  our  men 
"  were  determined  to  scalp  him,  he  having  been  the 
"  chief  and  blackest  author  of  the  cruelties  exercised 
"  on  our  countrymen.  Some  of  his  letters  fell  into 
"  the  hands  of  the  English,  in  which  he  explicitly 
"  and  basely  said  that  Peace  was  the  best  time  for 
"  making  war  on  the  English"  Was  there  any  neces 
sity  for  the  surrender,  or  fall  of  Quebec,  consequent 

1  De  Montcalm  en  Canada,  p.  202. 


Il8  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

upon  Montcalm's  defeat  ?  I  hold  not.  It  was  pre  - 
mature,  and  the  result  of  military  incapacity  of  Dr. 
Yaudreuil  and  De  Ramezay. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  13th,  after  the  hurried 
Council  in  which  the  Governor-General  wished  to 
surrender  at  once,  De  Eamezay,  the  Commandant  at 
Quebec,  simply  instructed  to  retain  the  city  as 
long  as  he  could,  the  Governor  moved  off  with  his 
legion  of  10,000  men  (the  balance  of  Montcalm's 
army  and  his  own)  to  safe  quarters,  beyond  the 
range  of  the  English  guns. *  De  Levis  had  been 
summoned  to  return  to  take  command  of  the  army. 
Making  all  haste  possible,  he  reached  Yaudreuil's 
camp  at  Jacques  Cartier  on  the  17th,  and  exclaimed, 
"  Never  was  there  such  a  rout,  as  that  of  Quebec ; 
u  the  people  are  running  away  with  fear,  I  met  them 
"  as  far  as  Three  Rivers."  He  immediately  upbraided 
Yaudreuil  for  forsaking  Quebec 2  with  such  an  army 
of  fresh  troops  as  he  beheld  before  him — fully  13,000 
men.  He  enjoined  immediate  return  and  reopening 

1  Ainsi,  M.  Saunders  eut  la  satisfaction  de  voir  fuir  devant  lui 
une  arme"e  plus  formidable  que  la  sienne. — Memoirs  S.  de  C.,  p.  166. 

(Translation.)  Thus  Saunders  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
flying  before  him  an  army  much  larger  than  his  own. 

2  De  Montcalm  en  Canada,  p  222. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  IK) 

of  the  battle.  De  Yaudreuil,  fearful  that  his  instruc 
tions  to  De  Eamezay  may  have  caused  a  capitula 
tion,  sent  avant  courriers  to  stop  it, — while  every 
haste  was  made  by  the  army  to  reach  the  field  ere  it 
was  too  late.  They  reached  it  only  in  time  to  see 
— as  in  a  Fata  Morgana — the  Lilies  of  France 
reversed, x  and  inscribed  Perftdia  Eversa,  while  the 
stern  reality  showed  the  proud  banner  of  England 
floating  from  the  flag-staff  at  the  citadel,  the  gates 
wide  open,  and  the  241  cannon  they  had  so  frequently 
loaded,  now  turned  forever,  crammed  to  the  muzzle, 
against  themselves. 

From  this  scene  of  perfidy,  let  us  turn  to  a  bright 
oasis  of  courage  and  duty  exemplified  by  woman. 

In  the  valley  of  the  St.  Charles,  facing  the  field  of 
battle,  stood  the  Greneral  Hospital  from  the  win 
dows  of  which  the  Nuns  of  St.  Augustine  order  in 
charge,  paralyzed  with  fear,  were  unwilling  witnesses 
of  the  scene  of  strife.  The  knell  of  the  cannon-ball, 
the  whizzing  of  shot,  brought  death  to  their  sight ; 
pursued,  bayonetted  or  sabred,  they  saw  their  loved 
ones  fall  in  the  vain  attempt  to  defend  that  sacred 
land  of  Canada,  the  refuge  of  the  pilgrim's  cross,  the 

1  As  per  De  Vaudreuil's  orders  in  De  Montcalm  en  Canada,  p.  223. 


120  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

harbour  of  the  missionary's  delight,  where  martyr 
dom  at  the  savages  excruciating  torture  was  but  the 
passport  to  eternal  bliss  beyond.  Terror-stricken, 
they  open  the  gates  to  receive  the  wounded  and 
dying ;  friend  and  foe  alike,  bleeding,  maimed, 
scalped  or  distorted,  Montcalm  the  heroic  general, 
mortally  wounded  among  them,  are  laid  at  their 
feet  for  the  merciful  treatment  of  woman,  rendered 
more  tender  by  that  nursing  of  religion  to  which 
they  had  sacrificed  their  terrestrial  life.  Eegardless 
of  race  or  faith,  nationality  or  uniform,  they  admin 
istered  the  sacred  calling  of  their  profession  with 
that  impartiality  indicative  of  true  religion  borne 
of  faith,  hope  and  charity — the  one  touch  of  nature 
which  makes  the  whole  world  kin. 

The  actual  number  in  the  engagement  is  still  an 
open  question.  A  little  dissertation  on  this  import 
ant  point  may  not  be  uninteresting.  On  the  part  of 
the  English,  sufficient  authority  and  confirmation 
exist  to  establish  the  number,  as  given  by  Knox  at 
4828,  and  which  I  have  assumed.  On  the  French 
side  the  weight  of  historical  evidence  is  in  favor 
of  1940  regulars,  5000  colony  troops  and  Canadian 
militiamen  and  500  Indians.1  By  including  De 

1  For  note  referring  to  this,  see  next  page. 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 


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122          The  Fall  of  New  France. 

Bougainville's  flying  column  of  2000  men,  we 
would  have  about  the  figure  of  9580,  claimed  by 
Knox  to  have  been  engaged,  which,  he  says,  he 
learned  from  a  French  officer  as  the  actual  number 
present,  and  which  is  confirmed  by  taking  the  whole 
force  at  what  it  was  represented  to  be,  viz.,  17,000 
strong,  divided  as  follows:1  With  Montcalm  in 
battle,  7500  ;  with  Levis,  1200 ;  with  De  Eamezay, 
2000  ;  with  Vaudreuil,  8300 ;  with  De  Bougainville, 
2000  ;  at  Samos  and  Jacques  Cartier,  1000. 

We  have  other  corroborative  evidence  worthy  of 
considerable  credence.  I  allude  to  the  numerous 
sermons  and  discourses  delivered  at  the  time  upon 
the  public  rejoicings  which  followed.  While  due 
allowance  may  be  made  for  the  latitude  of  language 
which  such  an  overwhelming  victory  may  occasion, 
sufficient  is  left  to  impress  the  mind  by  the  unan 
imity  of  the  statement  that  "  Montcalm's  army  was 
"  greatly  superior  in  number  to  Wolfe's  ;"  that  it 

1  Bigot  states  (p.  83  Ramezoy's  Memoirs,  Quebec,  1861,)  "that  he 
"  had  to  provide  20,000  rations  daily  for  the  Quebec  army,  or  30,000 
"  for  the  three  divisions  of  the  army."  Knox,  Vol.  II,  p.  166 
states:  ''That  a  Recollet  Father  told  him  that  throughout  the 
country  there  were  27,000  Canadian  militiamen  under  arms,  apart 
from  the  Regulars  and  Indians." 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

was  an  admitted  fact  at  the  time.  One  of  these  dis 
courses,  in  particular,  attracts  our  attention  for  its 
truthfulness,  and  serving  to  prove  the  correctness  of 
the  others, — as  it  was  delivered  in  the  capital  itself, 
in  the  presence  of  the  very  army  engaged  and  people 
interested,  within  a  very  few  days  of  the  occurrence 
of  the  battle. 

The  sermon  was  that  of  the  Eev.  ELI  DAWSON, 
Chaplain  to  the  Forces,  delivered  at  the  Chapel  of 
the  Ursulines,  in  Quebec,  on  the  27th  of  September, 
1759,1  in  which  he  uses  the  following  language 
(pp.  10-12):- 

"  The  indulgence  of  Providence  therefore,  without 
"  doubt,  is  to  be  gratefully  acknowledged  for  every 
"  success  and  advantage,  even  though  the  superiority 
"  has  been  never  so  great  on  the  side  of  the  triumphant 
"  party.  For  it  is  not  in  mortals  to  command  success ; 
"  the  aid  of  Providence  can  alone  secure  the  battle 

1 A  Discourse  delivered  at  Quebec  in  the  Chappel  belonging  to 
the  Convent  of  the  Ursulins,  September  27th,  1759 ;  occasioned  by 
the  Success  of  our  Arms  in  the  Reduction  of  that  Capital :  At  the 
request  of  Brigadier  General  Monckton,  and  by  Order  of  Vice 
Admiral  Saunders,  Commander  in  Chief.  By  the  Reverend  Eli 
Dawson,  Chaplain  of  His  Majesty's  Ship  Sterling  Castle,  on  Board 
of  which  the  Vice  Admiral  hoisted  his  Flag,  during  the  Siege. 
London  :  R  Griffiths,  1760. 


124          The  Fall  of  New  France. 

"  to  the  strong,  and  victory  to  the  brave.  "We  may 
"  observe,  however,  that  as  it  gives  a  higher  relish 
"  of  joy,  so  it  must  be  a  higher  incentive  to  grati- 
"  tude,  when  the  party  that  is  inferior  becomes  victo- 
"  rious.  This  was  evidently  our  case  !  which  makes 
"  the  favor  of  Providence  still  greater.  For  so  small 
11  was  the  number  of  our  land  forces  !  such  the  superiority  of 
"  the  enemy,  with  all  the  advantages  of  their  situa- 
"  tion,  that  they  thought  themselves  secure  ;  while 
"  the  highest  that  our  hopes  could  aspire  to,  was  to  be 
"  serviceable  to  our  country,  by  making  a  diversion 
"  in  this  part  of  the  continent  to  favour  our  military 

"  operations  in  another," "But,  remember, 

"he  is  greatly  fallen  !  Tell  how  he  fell,  ye  proud 
"  Towers ! — Ye  Ramparts  !  "Were  ye  not  Wit- 
"  nesses  ?  Speak  with  what  a  blaze  of  Grlory  you 
"  saw  the  Heroe  surrounded  ! — Tell  how  ye  shook  to 
"  your  Foundations  at  the  presence  of  the  Con- 
"  queror  !  Tell  how  you  saw  your  numerous  Hosts,  like 
"  the  Dust,  scattered  over  the  Plain !  Tell  how  vainly 
"  they  sought  shelter  amidst  these  ghastly  ruins ! 
"  Ye  Mountains  of  Abraham,  decorated  with  his  Tro- 
"  phies,  tell  how7  vainly  ye  opposed  him,  when  he 
"  mounted  your  lofty  Heights  with  the  strength 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

"  and  swiftness  of  an  Eagle!  Stand  fixed  forever 
"  upon  your  rocky  base,  and  speak  his  Name  and 
"  Glory  to  all  future  Generations  !  Ye  Streams  of 
"  Lawrence  !  and  propitious  Gales !  speed  the  glad 
"  Tidings  to  his  beloved  Country  !  and  let  Britannia 
"  soon  receive  the  last,  the  richest  pledge  of  her 
"  Heroe's  filial  Duty  and  Affection  !  Ye  Heralds  of 
"  Fame, *  already  upon  the  Wing,  stretch  your 
"  Flight,  and  swell  your  Trumpets  with  the  Glory 
"  of  a  Military  Exploit  through  distant  Worlds.  An 
"  Exploit !  which  for  the  fineness  of  address  in  Stra- 
"  tagem  !  the  Daringness  of  the  Attempt !  and  the 
"  Spirit  of  its  Execution!  shall  take  rank  with  the 
"  choicest  pieces  of  Ancient  or  Modern  Story  in  the 
"  Temple  of  Fame,  where  it  remains  immortal ! 
"  Whilst,  we  trust  in  God,  HE  is  gone  to  take  Pos- 
"  session  of  that  more  substantial  Immortality,  into 
"  which  all  Patriots,  all  Lovers  of  Virtue  and  Man- 
"  kind,  who  hold  their  Lives  in  ready  resignation  to 
"  the  call  of  God  and  their  Country,  will  most 
"  assuredly  enter."2 

1  Alluding  to  the  Expresses  sent  with  the  news  of  the  Surrender 
of  Quebec  to  Great  Britain  and  the  Continent  of  America. 

2  Captain  Knox  entry  of  this  Sermon  in  his  Historical  Journal, 
Vol.  II,  p.  168,  reads :    "  In  consequence  of  orders  for  this  purpose, 


126  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

Among  the  numerous  others,  I  will  give  extracts 
from  a  few  of  the  more  important.  Chandler  says  : — x 

"  On  the  other  hand,  passing  the  deserted  Tillages 
"  and  many  wonderful  occurrences  of  Providence, 
"  come  see  the  scenes  opening  in  the  Siege  of  Que- 
"  bee.  Altho'  Britons  love  Peace,  they  can  use  the 
"  sword  with  bravery,  when  it  is  necessary  to  guard 
"  their  interests  and  repel  their  Foes.  Sway'd  by  a 
"  love  to  their  Sovereign  and  the  glory  of  his  arms, 
"  with  a  flush  of  sanguine  spirits,  they  made  an 
"  onset.  '  The  Artillery  roars — disgorging  mortal 
"  Ball — hurling,  fiery  globes  ;  which  kindle  into  a 
"  furnace  of  flame,  and  bursting  into  ragged  instru- 
"  ments  of  ruin,  scatter  death  all  around  them.' 
"  The  British  Banner  moving  from  one  Station  to 

"  to-dav  has  been  dedicated  to  Divine  Service  and  a  solemn  Thanks- 
"  giving  for  the  success  of  His  Majesty's  Arms,  in  the  reduction  of 
"  this  fortress ;  the  troops  were  excused  all  duties  of  labour  and 
"  fatigue,  and  about  eleven  o'clock,  the  several  regiments  marched 
"  to  the  Church  of  the  Ursulines,  preceded  by  our  General  Officers, 
"  where  they  heard  an  excellent  Sermon  suitable  to  the  occasion  ; 
"  several  French  merchants,  said  to  be  Hugonots,  attended,  though 
"  unacquainted  with  our  language." 

1  Extract  from  Sermon.  SAMUEL  CHANDLER,  A.M.  (p.  22-23), 
Pastor  of  a  Church  in  Glocester,  preached  Thursday,  November  29, 
1759,  Being  the  day  of  the  Provincial  Anniversary  Thanksgiving. 
Boston :  New  England.  Printed  by  Green  &  Russell  at  their  Office 
in  Queen  Street. 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

"  another,  is  set  up  at  length,  and  part  of  the  troops 
"  are  arrayed  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham.  Alarm'd 
"  at  this,  the  Gallic  Bravoes  quitted  their  inaccessible 
"  Intrenchments,  and  advanced  with  haughty 
"  strides,  numerous  and  formidable,  with  rage  in  a 
"  blaze ;  like  the  Giant  to  crush  David.  Our  bold  Bat- 
"  talions,  comparatively  few  and  despicable,  are  planted 
"  as  a  Battery  of  Rock,  in  a  judicious  disposition, 
"  becoming  the  British  Hero  who  commanded. 
"  Courage  sat  in  state  on  the  martial  brows,  Prow- 
"  ess  brightened  in  their  aspect.  In  the  critical 
"  moment,  they  arose  intrepid,  rushed  into  the 
"  thickest  havoc  of  the  battle,  and  fought  like  men 
"  who  knew  no  medium  between  conquest  and 
"  death.  The  fierce  attack  was  broken  ;  the  coward 
"  bands  wrere  put  to  flight — their  courage  fled  in  the 
"  combat — and  the  tripid  multitude  fled,  like  the  Roe 
"  upon  the  Mountains,  trembling  as  they  fled;  and 
"  Victory,  auspicious  to  us,  spread  itself  all  along  the 
"  Plain.  Pursued  with  alertness  and  vigor,  they 
"  fled  to  the  City  and  soon  surrender — the  Capital 
"  of  New  France  is  surrendered,  a  Trophy  to  the 
"  conquering  arms  of  Great  Britain." 


128  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

Extract  from  Mr.  COOPER'S  sermon1  (pp.  40-44)  : — 
"  I  find  myself  at  a  loss  for  words  upon  this 
u  memorable  occasion.  I  know  not  how  to  express 
"  the  importance  of  that  success  with  which  it  has 
"  pleased  Grod  to  bless  His  Majesty's  Arms,  and  yet 
"  I  feel  it ;  and  so  I  doubt  not  does  everyone  in  this 
"  Assembly.  Joy  sparkles  in  every  eye  ;  Triumph 
"  sits  upon  every  face.  But  when  the  Bosom  swells 
"  with  an  unusual  tide  of  Gladness,  it  is  harder  to 
"  paint  what  we  feel  in  suitable  expressions,  than 
"  upon  more  common  occasions. 

"  G-od  has  heard  our  Prayers,  and  those  of  our  Pro- 
"  genitors.  We  behold  the  day  which  they  desired 
"  to  see,  but  saw  it  not.  We  have  received  a  Salva- 
"  tion  from  Heaven,  greater  perhaps  than  any  since 
"  the  foundation  of  the  Country.  The  power  of 
"  Canada  is  broken.  Its  Capital  is  reduced ;  and  the 
"  British  Banners  float  triumphant  upon  the  Walls 

1  Occasioned  by  the  Eeduction  of  Quebec.  Preached  before  His 
Excellency  Thomas  Pownall,  Esq.,  Captain  General  and  Governor 
in  Chief,  The  Honourable  His  Majesty's  Council  and  House  of 
Representatives  of  the  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New 
England,  October  16th,  1759,  by  request.  By  Samuel  Cooper,  A.M., 
Pastor  of  a  Church  in  Boston.  Boston  :  New  England  ;  Printed  by 
Green  &  Russell,  and  Edes  &  Gill,  by  order  of  His  Excellency  the 
Governor,  and  both  Houses  of  Assembly. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.          120 

"of Quebec!. Courage  is  the  most  brilliant 

"  quality  to  common  eyes,  as  it  is  truly  the  basis  of 
"  a  Soldier.  But  had  this  necessary  quality  been 
"  found  alone  at  the  head  of  our  small  army,  it  never 
"  could  have  undertaken  and  effected  such  various 
"  services,  for  which  it  was  so  often  divided,  with- 
"  out  giving  some  fatal  advantage  to  a  numerous 
"  and  watchful  Foe.  Here  then  that  conduct  shone, 
"  which  strikes  with  admiration  the  judicious  and 
"  marks  the  great  Captain.  A  sagacity  and  pru- 
"  dence  sufficiently  animated,  but  not  disturbed  or 
"  over-borne,  by  that  martial  ardor,  so  natural  to  the 
"  breasts  of  Heroes. 

"  As  soon  as  G-eneral  Wolfe  had  disembarked  his 
"  Army,  he  gained  upon  the  Enemy,  even  without 
"  a  Battle,  and  never  for  a  moment  quitted  his  supe- 
"  riority.  At  length,  by  a  motion,  prudent  as  it  was 
"  bold,  meritorious  as  it  was  successful,  he  drew  the 
"  French,  much  superior  in  numbers,  from  their  inacces- 
"  sible  infrenchments,  and  obtained  that  great  and 
"  decisive  victory,  which  was  soon  followed  with 
"  the  surrender  of  Quebec. 

"  When  we  consider  the  situation  of  his  Service 
"  in  the  heart  of  Canada ;  the  comparative  smallness 
9 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

"  of  his  force,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  employed 
"  it,  must  we  not  acknowledge,  that  he  had  made  a 
"  successful  and  shining  campaign,  even  before  the 
"  Thirteenth  of  September !  But  what  an  occasion 
"  of  G-lory  to  himself,  of  service  to  his  Prince,  and 
"  felicity  to  his  Country,  did  that  Day  afford!  That 
"  remarkable  Day,  not  only  exhibited  the  superiority 
"  of  British  courage,  but  shewed  a  young  British 
"  Commander,  who  had  never  before  been  at  the 
"  head  of  an  Army,  vanquishing  by  superiority  of 
"  skill  an  experienced  and  successful  G-eneral  of 
"  France." 

Extract  from  Sermon  of  ANDREW  ELIOT,  M.A.1 
(pp.  34-3Y) :- 

"  And  yet,  G-od  has  caused  us  to  see  greater  things 
"  than  these.  Amidst  all  the  joy  which  arose  in  our 
"  breasts,  at  the  success  of  the  British  Arms  to  the 
"  westward  ;  our  hearts  were  in  pain  for  the  brave 
"  G-eneral  Wolfe,  who  with  his  little  Army  was  en- 

1  Pastor  of  the  New  North  Church  in  Boston.  Preached  October 
25th,  1759.  Being  a  Day  of  Public  Thanksgiving  appointed  by 
Authority  for  the  success  of  the  British  Arms  this  year,  especially 
in  the  Reduction  of  Quebec,  the  Capital  of  Canada.  Boston: 
Printed  by  Daniel  and  John  Kneeland  for  J.  Winter  in  Union 
Street,  opposite  to  the  King's  Arms.  1759. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  131 

"  camped  before  Quebec,  and  opposed  by  the  main 
"  strength  of  Canada,  commanded  by  M.  Montcalm, 
"  a  name  too  well  known  among  us.  We  had  heard 
"  of  the  difficulties  with  which  this  army  strug- 
"  gled ;  of  the  repulse  it  had  at  one  time  met  with ; 
"  of  the  strength  of  the  City  ;  of  the  numbers  that 
"  defended  it ;  of  the  impenetrable  lines,  behind 
"  which  they  had  secured  themselves.  Our  last 
"  advices  were  that  the  General  had  made  such  a 
"  change  in  the  situation  of  our  Army,  as  was  like 
"  to  bring  on  something  decisive.  The  event  has 
"  been  agreeable  to  these  expectations.  It  bro't  on 
"  the  battle  which  has  decided  the  fate  of  Quebec  ; 
"  which  has  decided  'tis  probable,  the  fate  of  Canada ; 
"  that  country,  which  we  were  ready  to  fear  was 
"  never  to  be  conquered  ;  at  least,  it  gives  us  reason 
"  to  hope  for  this  happy  consequence. 

"  The  surrender  of  this  important  fortress  is  an  event 
"  truly  great.  It  is  great,  as  the  welfare  of  this  country 
"  is  nearly  affected  with  it ;  it  breaks  all  the  designs 
"  of  the  French  ;  and  affords  an  agreeable  prospect, 
"  that  our  civil  and  religious  privileges  will  be  con- 
"  tinued  to  posterity.  It  is  great,  as  we  may  hope, 
"  it  will  put  an  end  to  the  ravages  of  the  Indians  on 


132  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

"  our  frontiers.  It  is  great,  as  it  was  attended  with 
"  difficulties,  which  would  have  been  insurmount- 
"  able  to  any,  but  a  G-eneral  of  such  heroic  fortitude 
"  and  consummate  skill,  such  fine  officers,  and  such 
"  intrepid  soldiers.  It  is  great,  as  our  army  in  the 
"  battle  which  introduced  it  was  opposed  by  near 
"  twice  their  number,  with  a  G-eneral  at  their  head  of 
"  great  experience  in  the  art  of  war,  and  who  had 
"  not  yet  failed  in  any  attempt  he  had  made.  It 
"  is  great,  as  these  colonies  have  had  this  con- 
"  quest  so  long  in  view,  and  have  met  with  so  many 
'•  disappointments  in  their  designs  against  it.  It  is 
"  great  to  us,  as  we  were  ready  to  give  up  all  hopes 
"  of  success ;  and  no  doubt,  had  we  failed  in  this  last 
"  struggle,  we  must  have  given  over  the  expedition ; 
"  the  consequences  of  which,  who  can  tell !  So  low 
"  were  our  expectations  sunk,  that  when  the  news, 
"  that  Quebec  was  in  the  possession  of  the  English 
"  first  arrived,  we  could  scarce  think  it  a  reality : 

"  '  It  seemed  at  first  a  pleasing  dream 
Of  what  we  wished  to  see.' 

"  Then  was  our  mouth  filled  with  laughter,  and  our 
"  tongues  with  singing ;  joy  was  painted  on  every 


The  Fall  of  New  France.          133 

"  countenance,  but  no  one  knew  how  to  express 
"what  he  felt." 

Extract  from  Rev.  JONATHAN  MAYHEW,  D.D.,  Pas 
tor  of  the  West  Church  in  Boston.1  Two  Discourses 
delivered  October  25th,  1759  (p.  27)  :— 

"  Behold  him  there,  with  his  little  body  of  British 
"  troops,  himself  the  head  to  direct,  and  the  soul  to 
u  animate  the  whole,  if  such  troops  needed  anima- 
"  tion ;  the  force  of  Canada  moving  towards  him 
"  with  slow  and  solemn  steps,  under  a  try'd,  expe- 
"  rienced  and  approved  commander !  Unhappy 
"  Montcalm !  Courageous  at  least,  if  not  prudent 
"  at  this  time !  What  is  it  that  in  an  unpropitious 
"  hour,  tempts  thee  thus  to  forego  those  advantages, 
"  which  could  not,  perhaps,  have  been  forced  from 
"  thee !  What  is  it  that  induces  thee  to  put  the 
"  Capital  of  Canada,  and,  with  it,  the  whole  country, 
"  upon  so  desperate  a  risque,  as  the  event  of  the 

xTwo  Discourses  delivered  October  25th,  1759,  Being  the  day 
appointed  by  Authority  to  be  observed  as  a  Day  of  Public  Thanks 
giving  for  the  Success  of  His  Majesty's  Arms,  more  particularly  in 
the  Reduction  of  Quebec,  the  Capital  of  Canada,  with  an  Appendix 
containing  a  brief  account  of  two  former  expeditions  against  that 
City  and  Country,  which  proved  unsuccessful,  by  JONATHAN  MAY- 
HEW,  D.D.,  Pastor  of  the  West  Church  in  Boston.  Boston,  New 
England  :  Richard  Draper.  1759. 


134  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

"  ensuing  battle !  Perhaps  thou  reliest  on  thy  superior 
"  numbers !  But  dost  thou  not  know  both  British 
"  troops  and  French  ones  better,  than  to  think 
"  the  latter  can  stand  before  the  former  on  even 
"  ground,  though  the  disproportion  of  numbers  be  so 

11  great!" 

It  has  been  claimed  by  military  authorities,1  and 
apparently  most  correctly,  that  Montcalm's  position 
at  Beauport  was  not  judicious  or  advantageous. 
The  high  ground  on  the  right,  or  southern,  bank  of 
the  St.  Charles  would  have  been  the  preferable  situ 
ation  for  the  defence  of  Quebec.  Had  the  French 
army  occupied  this  ground,  the  disembarkation  at 
Wolfe's  Cove  might  not  have  succeeded.  The 
battle  of  Quebec  is  regarded  as  even  a  more  fatal 
error.  A  battle  was  Wolfe's  object  and  most  gene 
rally  is  that  of  every  assailant.  To  avoid  one  ought 
consequently  to  have  been  that  of  Montcalm.  His 
attack  upon  Wolfe's  corps  was  gallant,  but  it  was 
rash  and  precipitate.  Finding  Wolfe  landed,  he 
should  have  retreated  within  the  walls  of  Quebec 
and  have  compelled  him  to  attack  him  there.  To 
have  established  batteries  and  to  have  broken 

1  Precis  of  the  Wars  in  Canada,  by  General  Smythe,  p.  80. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  135 

ground,  would  have  been  an  operation  requiring 
considerable  time  and  labour.  The  season  was  slip 
ping  away  rapidly  and  the  French  had  every  thing 
to  gain  from  delay.  There  is  no  doubt  the  battle  of 
the  13th  September  was  unnecessary  and  uncalled 
for  and  on  this  fatal  error — whatever  the  merits  of 
Montcalm  may  be  as  a  man  and  they  were  socially 
and  morally  many — his  reputation  as  a  General 
must  rest  and  the  verdict  of  posterity  must  be  a 
strong  condemnation  of  his  ability  as  a  military  man 
and  G-eneral  in  command  of  the  defences  of  Quebec. 
His  prowess,  which  was  his  forte,  served  him  well 
on  other  occasions,  but  at  Quebec,  where  it  was  of 
no  avail,  he  was  outgeneralled  and  sadly  inefficient 
in  military  tactics. 

Townshend,  upon  whom,  from  seniority  (Monck- 
ton  having  been  rendered  hors-de-combat  by  a  wound), 
the  command  had  devolved,  in  his  official  despatch  to 
the  Government,  endeavoured  to  aggrandize  himself 
at  the  expense  of  Wolfe  and  others,  who  took  a  much 
more  active  part  in  the  engagement  than  fell  to  his 
lot ;  but  the  ridicule  and  coolness  which  this  brought 
upon  him,  soon  induced  him  to  rectify  his  error  and 
do  tardy  justice  to  the  fallen  hero  and  those  to 


136 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 


whom  credit  was  rightfully  due.  "Wolfe  always 
entertained  suspicions  of  his  sincerity,  and  generally 
relegated  him  to  inferior  positions  in  engagements  ; 
thus  in  the  battle  of  Quebec  he  was  placed  in  com 
mand  of  the  rear  guard  in  charge  of  the  landing 
place,  while  Murray,  his  inferior  in  rank,  was 
placed  in  the  van  of  the  attack.1 

A  few  days  after  the  capitulation  was  executed, 
Monckton  recovered  sufficiently  from  his  wounds  to 
resume  command.  He  appointed  Murray  to  take 
charge  of  the  garrison,  sent  Townshend  to  England, 
and  he  himself  removed  to  New  York,  to  which  he 
was  shortly  afterwards  appointed  Governor. 

Saunders  and  Townshend  immediately  returned 
to  England,  conveying  the  sick  and  wounded,  and 
the  embalmed  corpse  of  the  hero  Wolfe,  whose  sad 
premonitions  of  death,  as  related  of  him,  were  so  soon 

1  He  was  not  a  favorite  of  Wolfe's  !  In  fact  were  it  not  for  his 
great  family  and  personal  influence,  Wolfe  would  not  have  con 
sented  to  have  had  him.  on  his  force.  But  the  King  having  given 
away  to  him  in  his  selection  of  his  intimate  friend  Guy  Carleton, 
against  whom  the  King  had  personal  prejudices,  Wolfe,  after  many 
refusals  to  do  so,  consented  to  Townshend  being  given  the  second 
Brigadiership.  It  was  not  until  the  last  moment  that  this  consent 
was  obtained.  In  every  other  respect  Wolfe's  army  was  his  own 
selection,  an  unusual  privilege  granted  to  him  by  Pitt. 


WOLFE'S    MONUMENT. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  137 

to  be  verified.  The  evening  before,  in  a  melancholy 
mood,  he  deliberately  left  instructions  with  and  gave 
his  valuables  to  his  schoolmate,  Captain  John  Jervis, 
afterwards  Admiral  Earl  St.  Vincent,  to  be  conveyed 
to  England.  Mourning  was  universal  and  worn  by 
all  classes  for  months.  His  body  was  received  and 
funeral  conducted  with  as  much  military  display  as 
could  be  shown.  To  the  honor  of  England  be  it  said, 
the  nation  in  and  out  of  Parliament  could  not  suffici 
ently  shew  its  sincere  grief  at  the  loss  it  had  sus 
tained.  A  magnificent  and  costly  marble  monument 
was  erected  in  the  nation's  mausoleum,  Westmin 
ster  Abbey,  but  a  greater  monument  and  a  more 
lasting  one,  was  erected  to  his  memory,  namely, 
the  page  of  history  inscribed  to  his  merits  as  a  man, 
a  hero  of  many  battles,  a  patriot  and  general, 
esteemed  by  friend  and  foe,  which  will  be  as  ever 
lasting  as  the  nation  of  Canada,  which  he  helped  so 
materially  to  establish. 

Brigadier-General  Murray  was  left  in  command  at 
Quebec  with  7000  men  and  two  20-gun  ships.  He 
was  appointed  Civil  and  Military  Governor  of  the 
same.1 

1  In  Quebec  he  obtained  241  pieces  of  cannon,  viz. :  Ten  36- 
pounders,  forty-five  24  do.,  180  18  do.,  thirteen  12  do.,  forty-three 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

The  French  had  too  important  interests  at  stake  at 
Quebec,  to  give  much  opposition  elsewhere.  The 
detachment  of  Bourlamaque,  some  3000  strong, 
were  instructed  to  harass  and  prevent  the  advance 
of  Amherst,  but  not  to  give  battle  or  risk  valuable 
lives.  Thus,  as  Amherst  penetrated  his  route,  he 
met  with  little  opposition  ;  obstacles  unimportant 
were  placed  in  his  way,  and,  as  he  overcame  them, 
he  only  found  a  burning  or  blown  up  fortress  for  his 
reward.  Ticonderoga,  the  invincible  Carillon  of 
two  previous  campaigns,  Crown  Point  and  other 
strongholds  were  thus  treated,  and  by  the  time  he 
reached  the  St.  Lawrence,  he  found  it  too  late  to 
advance  to  the  assistance  of  Wolfe,  and  decided  upon 
wintering  at  Crown  Point,  where  he  could  begin 
operations  from,  early  the  next  season.  He  left 
Colonel  Haviland  in  charge  with  3300  men. 

The  Niagara  expedition  was  entrusted  to  G-enerals 

8  do.,  sixty-seven  6  do.,  thirty-three  4  do.,  seven  3  do.,  five  2  do. ; 
mortars,  twenty-one;  shells,  1100  ;  with  a  considerable  quantity  of 
powder,  ball,  small  arms,  intrenching  tools,  etc.,  etc. — Entick. 

Capt.  John  Montresor,  an  Engineer  whose  Journal  is  published 
by  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  states  that  in  the  vicinity  of 
Quebec  they  obtained  330  cannon,  20  mortars,  501  barrels  of  powder, 
with  great  quantities  of  ammunition.  He  found  the  fortifications  of 
Quebec  in  good  order  and  very  strong.  Page  234  Vol.  1881. 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

Prideaux  and  Sir  Wm.  Johnson.  Their  duty  was  to 
annihilate  the  French  posts  on  the  Lakes  and  in  the 
Ohio  Valley.  Fort  Niagara,  under  the  efficient  guard 
ing  of  Captain  Pouchot,  after  a  three  weeks  resist 
ance,  finally  surrendered,  handing  over  600  men  as 
prisoners.  G-eneral  Prideaux  being  killed  early  in 
the  engagement,  the  command  devolved  on  Johnson. 

G-eneral  Stanwix,  in  the  Ohio  Valley,  met  with  no 
opposition. 

Thus  the  end  of  1759  saw  the  French  dominions 
reduced  to  the  narrow  strip  of  territory  on  the  St. 
Lawrence  between  Jacques  Cartier  and  Kingston, 
Montreal  and  Isle-aux-Noix  being  the  only  posts  of 
any  importance  to  reduce. 

After  the  falling  of  Quebec  and  its  surrender,  De 
Vaudreuil  and  Levis  moved  their  headquarters  to 
Montreal,  leaving  1000  men  in  winter  quarters  at 
Jacques  Cartier. 

The  first  attempt  in  1760,  as  soon  as  the  climate 
permitted,  was  naturally  to  recover  Quebec.  De 
Levis  and  De  Vaudieuil,  with  6000  men,  well  drilled 
and  trained  for  this  last  and  special  effort  and  a 
large  concourse  of  irregulars, — the  country  having 


140          The  Fall  of  New  France. 

been  drummed  up  for  the  purpose,1 — took  their 
position  at  Sillery  on  the  28th  April.  Murray,  fall 
ing  into  the  error  of  Montcalm,  drew  up  his  troops, 
some  3000  men  and  twenty  field-pieces,  on  the 
Heights  of  Abraham,2  and  opened  the  attack  by  an 
advance  on  Levis  at  Sillery  and  Ste.  Foy,  thus  get 
ting  beyond  the  protection  of  his  cannon  !  Being 
outnumbered  and  over-reliant  he  was  defeated  with 
a  loss  of  1000  men  and  the  cannon  he  had  tempora 
rily  left  in  his  rear.  French  loss  was  1800  men  killed 
and  wounded.  Eetreating  within  the  walls  of  Que 
bec,  he  was  immediately  invested  by  Levis.  The  latter 
erected  redoubts  and  completed  his  batteries,  open 
ing  fire  against  the  city  on  the  llth  May  ;  but  find 
ing  two  English  vessels  of  war  arriving  on  the  15th, 
and  not  knowing  how  many  more  were  in  the  wake, 
he  determined  upon  desisting  and  withdrawing  his 
army  to  Montreal  for  a  final  stand,  evacuating  his 
position  on  the  lYth. 

For    an    insufficient    reason,   Levis    precipitately 
abandoned  an  advantageous  position  and  siege,  with 

1  Amounting  in  all  to  13,000  men  (see  pp.  122-124,  Quebec  Lit. 
and  Hist.  Soc.,  Sess.   1869,  Part  VII). — Kameau,  La  France  aux 
Colonies,  p.  86.    Smith's  Canada,  1815,  p.  335. 

2  Idem,  Lit.  and  Hist.  Soc.,  pp.   122-124.     Smith's    History   of 
Canada,  p.  335. 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  IAI 

a  well  disciplined  force  of  overwhelming  numbers, 
as  compared  with  Murray's  handful  of  soldiers, 
many  of  whom  were  prostrated  from  the  effects  of 
scurvy.  Such  advantages  in  the  hands  of  an  able 
G-eneral  could  not  have  failed  to  replace  Quebec  in 
the  hands  of  the  French,  His  disgraceful  with 
drawal  equalizes  Abercromby's  action  at  Carillon. 
Well  may  it  be  called  "  De  Levis'  folly." 

The  English  campaign  for  1760  was  a  descent  of 
the  army  of  Amherst,  10,170  strong,  including  760 
Indians  under  Sir  Wm.  Johnson,  by  the  Mohawk 
Eiver  and  the  Oneida  Lake,  to  Oswego;  there  to 
embark  on  Lake  Ontario  and  to  proceed  to  Montreal 
by  descending  the  St.  Lawrence.  Colonel  Haviland, 
with  his  3300  men,  was  to  advance  from  Crown 
Point  by  Lake  Champlain  upon  Montreal.  General 
Murray  was  to  ascend  the  St.  Lawrence  with  what 
ever  disposable  force  he  might  have,  after  leaving  a 
proper  garrison  for  the  security  of  Quebec.  The  col 
lapse  of  Levis'  investiture  enabled  him  to  move  with 
2450  men.  Thus,  by  these  arrangements,  a  force 
consisting  of  nearly  16,000  men,  it  was  expected, 
would  be  assembled  against  Montreal.1 

1  Smythe's  Precis  of  the  Wars  in  Canada,  p.  84.    Smith's  Canada, 


Izj.2  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

Military  authorities  have  since  strongly  con 
demned  this  campaign  as  laid  out  by  Amherst,  as  at 
many  points  in  this  open  and  dangerous  route,  the 
General's  army  was  open  to  complete  annihilation 
had  any  troops  opposed  it.  But  no !  De  Levis  was 
not  prepared  to  expect  so  rash  an  experiment  at  the 
hands  of  so  experienced  a  General  as  Amherst ;  his 
supposition  being  that  the  Champlain  would  be  the 
sole  route  of  approach  for  the  English  army  on 
Montreal.  He  therefore  fortified  Isle-aux-Noix  and 
Chambly  as  strong  as  he  could  make  them,  while 
detaching  a  considerable  number  of  his  troops  at 
points  on  the  St.  Lawrence — especially  Sorel — to 
contest  the  advent  of  Murray  should  he  attempt  to 
come  up  from  Quebec. 

Amherst  thus  met  little  or  no  obstruction  except 
that  ordained  by  Nature,  in  which  he  was  sadly 
worsted,  having  lost  over  sixty-four  boats  and  100 
lives  in  the  Cedars  E-apids  alone.1  He  reached  La- 
Quebec,  1815,  Vol.  I,  Appendix  XIX,  gives  in  detail  the  numbers 
and  corps  forming  the  three  armies.  Strange  to  say,  this  figure,  so 
precisely  known  and  authenticated,  has  been  magnified  by  De 
Vaudreuil  in  his  despatches  to  France  at  32,000 ;  by  De  Le"  vis  at 
40,000;  by  Beaugrand,  in  Le  Vieux  Montreal,  at  32,000;  and  by 
De  Bonnechose  Montcalm  at  20,000. 

lflhe  contemporary  portrait  of  Amherst  given  herein,  shows 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  143 

chine  on  the  6th  September,  marching  quickly  upon 
Montreal ;  to  the  west  of  which,  in  a  plain,1  he  took 
up  his  ground  the  same  evening,  when  overtures 
were  at  once  made  by  De  Yaudreuil  for  a  complete 
surrender  and  termination  of  warfare,  and  which 
absorbed  the  whole  of  the  next  day  discussing. 

Haviland's  contingent  reached  Isle-aux-Noix  on 
the  16th  August,  erected  batteries,  and  prepared  to 
attack  it ;  when,  upon  the  27th,  the  garrison  was 
withdrawn  by  De  Bougainville,  who  retreated  to 
Montreal.  On  his  further  advance,  Forts  St.  John 
and  Chambly  were  also  evacuated.  He  then  crossed 
country  and  reached  Longueuil,  opposite  Montreal, 
on  the  south  side  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  encamped 
immediately  opposite  Murray's  forces  on  the  6th 
September. 

Murray  left  Quebec  on  the  14th  July  in  51  vessels, 
meeting  with  little  opposition  as  he  advanced  up  the 

him  in  a  contemplative  attitude,  while  his  troops  are  seen  descend 
ing  the  Rapids — a  danger  which  the  artist  was  evidently  alive  to 
and  paints  Amherst  as  feeling. 

Jl  locate  his  position  about  the  foot  of  C6te  des  Neiges  hill, 
between  Guy  street  and  Clarke  avenue  on  the  one  side ;  Sherbrooke 
street  and  Dorchester  street  on  the  other.  The  house  in  which  the 
Capitulation  was  signed  existed  until  quite  recently,  and  was  at 
the  head  of  the  hill,  near  the  site  of  the  C6te  des  Neiges  old  toll-gate. 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

river,  notwithstanding  the  elaborate  preparations 
made  by  De  Levis  to  prevent  his  advent.  The 
enemy  were  evidently  discouraged  from  making  any 
further  stand,  and  the  habitants  already  began  to  show 
that  it  was  a  "forlorn  hope"  to  offer  any  further 
resistance  ;  profiting  by  the  "  Placart,"  or  Proclam 
ation,  issued  by  Murray,  they  eagerly  accepted  the 
right  hand  of  fellowship  and  friendship  and  7000  of 
them  en  route  subscribed  to  the  oath  of  loyalty  to  King 
G-eorge  II.  Awaiting  Amherst  at  Isle  Ste.  Therese, 
as  soon  as  Haviland's  contingent  arrived,  Murray 
advanced  on  the  7th  to  within  two  miles  below  the 
city,  where  both  were  informed  of  the  arrival  of 
Amherst  and  of  the  negotiations  pending. 

The  conjunction  of  these  three  armies  within 
forty-eight  hours  of  each  other,  after  the  many  mis 
haps  they  were  subject  to  in  such  long  and  danger 
ous  routes,  and  occurring  within  the  time  originally 
determined  upon,  shows  a  marvellous  conception  of 
military  tactics  and  precision  of  movement  reflecting 
the  highest  credit  and  renown  upon  the  Commander- 
in-Chief  Amherst,and  G-enerals  Murray  and  Haviland, 
who  so  successfully  carried  it  out. 

Illustrative  of  Indian  character  and  the  difficulty 


The  Fall  of  New  France.  145 

of  restraining  them  from  excesses  in  time  of  war, 
may  be  mentioned  that,  upon  the  surrender  of  Fort 
Levis,  on  an  island  at  the  head  of  the  G-allops  Eapids, 
the  Indians  desired  to  enter  the  fort  to  massacre  the 
garrison.  General  Amherst,  being  apprised  of  their 
intentions,  immediately  sent  orders  to  Sir  William 
Johnson  to  persuade  them,  if  possible,  to  desist; 
declaring,  at  the  same  time,  that  if  they  offered  to 
enter  the  fort,  he  would  compel  them  to  retire.  The 
stores,  he  promised,  should  be  delivered  to  them,  as 
his  army  was  not  in  want  of  what  few  blankets 
might  be  found  there.  This  message  had  its  desired 
effect.  The  Indians,  though  with  great  reluctance 
and  apparent  ill  humour,  were  prevailed  on  to  return 
to  their  camp.  However,  their  resentment  increased 
to  such  a  degree  that  Sir  William  Johnson  informed 
the  General  he  was  apprehensive  they  would  quit 
the  army.  The  General  replied  "that  he  believed 
"  his  army  was  fully  sufficient  for  the  service  he 
"  was  going  upon  without  their  assistance ;  that, 
"  although  he  wished  to  preserve  their  friendship, 
"  he  could  not  prevail  on  himself  to  purchase  it  at 
"  the  expense  of  countenancing  the  horrid  barbarities 
"  they  wanted  to  perpetrate  ;"  and  added,  "  that  if 
10 


146 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 


"  they  quitted  the  army,  and  committed  any  acts  of 
';  cruelty,  he  would  on  his  return  assuredly  chastise 
"  them."  Upon  this,  the  whole  retired  with  the 
exception  of  170,  who  were  afterwards  distinguished 
upon  their  arrival  at  Montreal  by  the  gift  of  a  medal 
from  the  General,  that  they  might  "  be  known  at  the 
English  posts,  and  receive  the  civil  treatment  their 
conduct  deserved."1 

Amherst,  with  great  generosity,  had  consented  to 
all  the  fifty-five  articles  of  capitulation  requested  by 
De  Yaudreuil  with  the  exception  of  a  few  reserved 
for  the  Royal  sanction  and  two  which  he  declined, 
viz.,  the  perpetual  neutrality  of  the  inhabitants  and 
military  honors  for  the  army.  The  Chevalier  de  Levis, 
upon  being  refused  this  latter,  desired  to  retire  to 
St.  Helen's  Island  and  fight  it  out  to  the  last  man  ; 
but  being  peremptorily  forbidden  by  De  Yaudreuil,  he 
broke  his  sword  rather  than  surrender  it  unsheathed, 
while  the  regiments  burnt  their  colors  to  prevent 
them  being  carried  in  triumph  by  their  enemies.2 

1  Mant£,  p.  306 :  This  medal  is  well  known  to  numismatists.  The 
obverse  has  a  view  of  Montreal ;  the  reverse  plain,  with  the  name 
and  tribe  of  the  Indians  engraved.  As  it  was  given  before  the 
General's  departure,  and  is  very  archaic,  it  must  have  been  made 
in  Montreal  at  the  time. 
2  De  Montcalm  en  Canada,  p.  232.  Amherst  was  doubtful  that 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

The  following  morning,  the  8th  September,  with 
out  a  gun  being  fired,  the  complete  surrender  of  the 
Province  was  made,  and  a  capitulation  to  that  effect 
was  signed  by  the  Marquis  de  Yaudreuil,  the 
G-overnor-G-eneial.  Colonel  Haldimand,  afterwards 
Governor,  being  the  first  to  enter  the  city  and  plant 
the  British  Ensign  of  possession. 

Four  thousand  and  eleven  regulars,  with  16,422 
militiamen,  were  comprised  in  the  capitulation 
of  Montreal  and  submitted  their  arms  to  their 
conquerors,1  while  90,000  souls2  exchanged  the  tur 
bulent  and  despotic  Fleurs-de-lis  of  the  Bourbons  for 
the  broad  banners  of  St.  G-eorge,  where  liberalism 
and  freedom  in  their  broadest  sense  reigned  supreme, 
and  to  none  more  were  these  exemplified  than  to  the 

the  colours  did  not  exist,  and  desired  to  have  the  baggage  searched. 
Archives  Report,  1884.  The  colours  carried  by  the  French  regi 
ments  at  the  Quebec  battle  are  described  by  Capt.  Knox  to  be : 
A  white  silk  flag,  with  three  fleurs  de  lys,  within  a  wreath  or  circlet, 
in  the  center  part,  and  two  tassels  at  the  spear  end,  all  of  gold. 

1  Smith's  Canada,  Quebec,  1815,  Vol.  I,  p.  372.     Ferland's  Canada, 
Vol.  II,  p.  606. 

2  Knox,  Vol.  II,  p.  461, 1780,  claims  there  are  over  100,000  souls. 
Abbe  Kaynal,  Histoire  Philosophique  G&ntve,  1780,  4  to.,  p.  125,  gives 
the  population  of  Canada  in  1758  at  91,000  exclusive  of  the  French 
army  and  16,000  domiliciated  Indians  in  the  midst  of  the  French 
habitations. 


148 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 


conquered  peasantry,1  who  had  been  held  in  a  state 
of  ignorance,  vassalage  and  religious  tutelage  equal 
to  that  of  the  dark  and  middle  ages,  from  which 
an  emancipation  such  as  the  present  could  not  but 
be  hailed  with  delight. 

Never  were  more  generous  terms  conceded  by  any 
conqueror  than  those  granted  by  the  English  com 
manders,  Townshend  and  Amherst.2  Truly  Wolfe 
said  in  his  manifesto  to  the  Canadians  :  "  We  come 
"  not  to  disturb  you,  either  in  property  or  religion, 
"  so  long  as  you  remain  neutral — we  come  to  war  on 
"  our  enemies,  the  army  and  navy  of  France !  "  How 
soever  much  the  Canadians  forfeited,  by  their  actions, 
this  intended  clemency,  as  a  legacy  of  the  beloved 
Wolfe,  his  army  and  brother  officers  generously 
respected  his  wish,  and  carried  it  out  wherever 
opportunity  offered.  To  Wolfe  and  Amherst,  Bos- 
cawen  and  Saunders,  the  French  Canadians  owe  the 
liberty  they  enjoy  to-day  in  religious  privileges  and 
rights,  language,  laws,  and  hereditary  national  obser 
vances  conceded  to  them,  so  contrary  to  the  prevail- 

1  See  Ferland's  Canada,  p.  606-607. 

2  "  Les  Anglais  accorderent  sans  difficult^  les  articles  que  Ton 
"  avait  demanded   tant  pour  la  religion  que  pour  1'avantage  du 
"  Citoyen.    La  Joye  qu'ils  eurent  de  se  voir  en  possession  les  rendit 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

ing  code  of  their  conquerors,  affording  no  parallel 
example  of  liberality  to  the  vanquished  in  ancient 
or  modern  history. 

By  the  articles  of  capitulation,  the  territory  ceded 
by  the  Marquis  de  Yaudreuil  as  Governor,  forming 
what  he  claimed  the  sovereignty  of  France  over 
Canada,  comprehended  the  Lakes  Huron,  Superior 
and  Michigan  and  a  direct  line  therefrom  to  the  Red 
Lake,  taking  in  by  a  serpentine  course  the  Eiver 
Ouabachi,  as  far  as  its  junction  with  the  Ohio,  and 
from  thence  extends  along  the  latter  river  as  far, 
inclusively,  as  its  influx  into  the  Mississippi.  The 
eastern  boundary  being  the  territory  watered  by  the 
St.  Lawrence  and  Atlantic  Ocean.1  Louisiana  had 
also  been  ceded  about  this  period  by  secret  compact 
to  Spain. 

"  les  plus  mod6res  de  tous  les  vainqueurs,  nous  ne  poumons  sans 
"  injustice  nous  plaindre  de  la.  fa§on  dont  ils  nous  ont  traites," 
etc. — Relation  d'une  Religieuse  de  VHdpital  General  de  Quebec  en  1759, 
p.  11. 

(Translation.)  The  English  readily  accorded  the  articles 
demanded,  religious  toleration  and  civil  advantages  for  the  inhab 
itants.  Happy  in  having  acquired  possession  of  a  country,  in 
which  they  had  on  several  occasions  failed,  they  were  the  most 
moderate  of  conquerors.  We  could  not  without  injustice  complain 
of  the  manner  in  which  they  treated  us. — Relation  of  a  Hospital 
Nun  of  Quebec,  1759,  p.  11. 

1  Hansard  Parliamentary  History  of  England,  Vol.  XV.,  1753-65, 
p.  1061. 


I  ^0          The  Fall  of  New  France. 

By  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  signed  on  the  10th  Feb 
ruary  1763,  thes&  boundaries  were  ratified  and  indeed 
extended,  the  territory  being  divided  into  the  Pro 
vinces  of  Canada,  East  and  West  Florida. 

Amherst,  as  Commander- in-Chief,  received  the 
submission  of  Murray  as  Governor  of  Quebec,  but 
immediately  re-affirmed  him  in  it,  and  further 
appointed  Brigadier-G-eneral  Thomas  Gage  as  Gov 
ernor  of  the  District  of  Montreal,  and  Colonel  Ralph 
Burton  as  G-overnor  of  the  District  of  Three  Rivers  ; 
these  districts  to  have  the  same  limits  as  under  the 
French  regime  for  all  matters  of  civil  administration. 
It  is  significant  that  General  Gage,  in  his  proclama 
tion,  styles  himself  Governor-General ;  but  his  com 
mission  from  Amherst  does  not  seem  to  warrant  the 
assumption.  These  three  Governors  seem  to  have 
given  universal  satisfaction  in  the  difficult  and 
arduous  positions  they  assumed,  and  we  have  on 
record  a  very  interesting  and  early  document  con 
firming  Gage's  popularity  with  the  new  subjects.1 

1  On  the  25th  October,  1760,  George  II  suddenly  died.  As  soon 
as  the  news  reached  Montreal,  the  following  address  was  presented 
to  Governor  Gage  and  largely  signed  by  his  new  subjects,  who  also 
went  into  mourning  on  the  occasion.  It  shows  how  early  (within 
sixty  days)  the  benign  influence  of  British  rule  was  felt  in  render 
ing  the  inhabitants  loyal,  well  satisfied  and  loving  subjects  of  a 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

Nations  as  well  as  individuals  are  born  to  woe 
and  misery,  with,  occasional  sunbeams  of  happiness 
and  joy.  France  has  had  her  full  share  of  both,  like 
wise  her  cherished  colony,  New  France.  While  woe 
and  anguish  may  be  felt  at  the  trials  and  troubles 
of  the  Mother  Country,  by  which  the  Colonial  loving 
subjects  of  France  were  subjected  to  a  foreign  yoke 
and  nationality  ;  joy  and  contentment  should  rest  on 
their  brow  at  the  improved  position  this  change 
effected  in  their  welfare.  Father  Charlevoix,  the 

dynasty  they  had  hitherto  been  taught  to  hate,  despise  and  wage 
unceasing  warfare  upon,  accompanied  by  all  the  cruelties  and 
barbarisms  their  savage  allies  could  teach  them : — 

"  To  GENERAL  GAGE,  GOVERNOR  OF  MONTREAL. 

"  Cruel  destiny,  then,  has  cut  short  the  glorious  days  of  so  great 
"  and  magnanimous  a  Monarch.  We  are  come  to  pour  out  our 
"  grief  into  the  paternal  bosom  of  your  Excellency  ;  the  sole  tribute 
"  of  gratitude  of  a  people  who  will  never  cease  to  exult  in  the  mild- 
"  ness  and  moderation  of  their  new  masters.  The  General  who 
"  conquered  us  has  treated  us  more  like  victors  than  vanquished ; 
"  and  has  left  us  a  precious  PLEDGE  (the  meaning  of  GAGE  in 
'  French)  by  name  and  deed  of  his  goodness  to  us.  What  acknow- 
'  ledgments  are  we  not  bound  to  make  for  so  many  favours  !  They 
'  shall  be  forever  engraved  on  our  hearts  in  indelible  characters. 
'  We  entreat  your  Excellency  to  continue  to  us  the  honour  of  your 
'  protection.  We  will  endeavour  to  deserve  it  by  our  zeal,  and  the 
'  earnest  prayers  we  shall  offer  up  to  the  Almighty  Being  for  your 
'  health  and  preservation." — Annual  Register,  1761,  p.  91 ;  Hochelaga 
Depicta,  p.  65. 


152  The  Fall  of  New  France. 

eminent  historian,  in  his  History  of  New  France. 
Yol.  m.,  p.  80,  says :  "  There  exists  in  New  England 
"  (in  1721)  an  opulence  which  it  would  appear  we  do 
"not  know  how  to  emulate  ;  while  in  New  France, 
"  there  is  a  poverty  attempted  to  be  hidden  by  an  air 
"  of  ease."  When  the  portals  of  New  France  were 
opened  by  the  invasion  of  the  Britons — as  were  those 
of  their  own  country  (England),  in  A.D.  1066,  by  the 
ancestors  of  the  very  race  they  here  came  to  relieve — a 
flood  of  light  and  civilization,  enhanced  by  the  power 
of  the  printing  press,  was  thrown  in  among  the  inhabi 
tants  to  which  they  had  been  utter  strangers  ;  the 
reflex  of  which  is  seen  to-day  in  the  happiness, 
contentment,  enlightenment,  intellectuality,  power 
and  opulence  of  over  two  millions  of  the  very  people 
Father  Charlevoix  regretted,  in  1721,  were  so  far 
behind  their  English  neighbors,  an  amelioration 
which  could  not  have  taken  place  had  they  remained 
under  the  same  rules  and  restrictions  France  imposed 
upon  them.  They  have  only  to  contrast  their  happy 
position  with  that  of  their  kindred  and  nationality 
in  Louisiana,  whose  very  language,  customs,  religion, 
laws;  aye!  nationality,  have  been  crushed  out  and 
suppressed,  to  acknowledge  the  debt  of  gratitude 


The  Fall  of  New  France. 

they  owe  England,  and  the  love  and  respect  they 
should  entertain  everlastingly  for  the  people  who 
permitted  them  such  privileges  and  benefits,  and 
whose  descendants  have  so  faithfully  observed  and 
carried  them  out  to  this  day.  But  few  nations 
in  the  world  would  be  sufficiently  magnanimous 
or  liberal  minded  to  tolerate  a  "Nation  within  a 
Nation,"  and  as  nothing  in  the  articles  of  capitulation 
or  the  cession  at  the  Treaty  of  Peace  alters  the  terms 
conceded  to  them  by  their  valorous  conquerors,  it 
was  never  contemplated  the  concessions  they  made 
would  be  permitted  to  become  an  abuse  to  the  detri 
ment  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race. 

G-eneral  Amherst  returned  to  New  York  almost 
immediately  ;  received  the  thanks  of  the  British  Par 
liament,  was  created  a  Knight  of  the  Bath,  granted  a 
pension  of  ,£15,000  a  year  to  himself  and  descend 
ants  in  perpetuity ;  while  the  two  nations,  England 
and  America,  outvied  each  other  in  demonstrations 
of  joy  at  the  termination  of  French  rule  on  the 
Continent  of  America,  by  the  Fall  of  New  France. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


DESCRIPTION    OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


1.    MAJOR-GENERAL  WOLFE'S  LETTER. 


Frontispiece. 


On  the  17th  August,  1759,  Knox  (Vol.  11,  p.  23)  records  the  following  General 
Order:— "Mr-  Cameron,  a  volunteer  in  the  Light  Infantry  of  General 
"  Lascelles'  Regiment,  having  distinguished  himself  in  a  remarkable  manner 
"  in  the  defence  of  a  house,  with  only  a  sergeant,  corporal  and  sixteen  men 
"  of  Lascelles  Light  Infantry,  against  a  body  of  Savages  and  Canadians 
"  greatly  superior  in  number,  the  General  has  ordered  that  the  first  vacant 
"  commission  be  given  to  Mr.  Cameron  in  acknowledgment  of  his  good  con- 
"  duct  and  very  gallant  behaviour.  A  flanking  party  of  the  28th  Regi- 
"  ment,  commanded  by  a  sergeant,  distinguished  themselves  upon  the  same 
"  occasion,  and  hastened  to  the  assistance  of  his  friends  with  very  great 
"  spirit." 

This  important  letter  confirms  the  foregoing  engagement,  and  was  written 
from  the  camp  at  Montmorenci  (L'Ange  Guardien),  either  to  Lieut. -Col. 
Guy  Carleton,  under  whom  the  Light  Infantry  were  commanded,  or  to 
Lieut. -Col.  Hale,  in  command  of  the  47th  Lascelles  Regiment.  It  is  a 
valuable  specimen  of  Wolfe's  ordinary  style  of  writing  and  signature,  and 
is  reproduced  in  fac  simile  size  and  color  of  paper,  as  well  as  script. 
His  autograph  letters  are  exce  edingly  rare  and  command  very  high  prices 
when  offered  at  auction  in  England  In  1856  a  sale  is  recorded  at  £6.17.6  of 
an  uninteresting  family  letter  (Wolfe's  Life,  by  Wright,  p.  500). 


158  Description  of  Illustrations. 

2.  THE  HON.  VICE-ADMIRAL  BOSCAWEN.  p.  39. 

Son  Viscount  Falmouth.  Born  19th  Aug.,  1711.  Married,  1742,  Frances, 
daughter  of  W.  Evelyn  Glanville,  Esq.,  of  St.  Clair,  Kent.  Age  30, 
Captain  of  the  "Shoreham."  Distinguished  himself  at  the  taking 
of  Porto  Bello  and  the  Seige  of  Carthagena.  Age  33,  promoted  to  the 
"  Dreadnought  "—60  guns.  Captured  the  "  Medea,"  the  first  French  ship  of 
war  captured  after  the  declaration  of  war,  in  1744,  Captain  Hocquart  in  com 
mand.  Distinguished  himself  under  Anson  in  1747,  for  which  he  was  made 
(age  36)  Rear  Admiral  of  the  Blue.  Lord  Commissioner  of  the  Admiralty  at 
age  38.  In  1755  he  again  captured  the  first  French  vessels  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Seven  Years  War,  the  "  Alcyde  "  and  the  "  Lys  "  (age  44),  when  Hoc- 
quart  hecame  his  prisoner  the  third  time .  Was  one  of  the  council  at  Halifax 
which  decided  upon  the  expulsion  of  the  Acadians.  In  1758  (age  47)  he  was 
in  command  of  the  expedition  against  Cape  Breton  and  Louisbourg, 
which  he  successfully  reduced.  In  1759  he  captured  and  defeated  Admiral 
Clue  in  the  Mediterranean.  Four  times  thanked  by  the  House  of  Com 
mons,  made  a  Privy  Councillor,  granted  a  pension  of  £3,000  a  year,  made 
General  of  the  Marines  in  1760,  with  £3,000  a  year  attached.  This  brave, 
intelligent  and  efficient  officer,  known  affectionately  by  his  sailors  as  Wry 
Necked  Dick,  or  Old  Dreadnought,"  died  the  10th  January,  1761,  aged  49 
years,  leaving  three  sons  and  two  daughters,  at  Hatchlands  Park,  a  seat 
finished,  he  said,  "  at  the  expense  of  the  French,  the  enemies  of  his  country." 
Buried  in  parish  church  of  St.  Michael*  Penkivel,  in  Cornwall 
His  two  eldest  boys  dying  young,  his  third  son  became  Viscount  Falmouth. 
From  a  wound  in  the  shoulder  his  head  became  bent,  like  that  of  Alexander 
the  Great,  and  it  was  of  him  Pitt  said  "  that  when  he  proposed  expeditions 
"  to  other  commanders  he  heard  nothing  but  difficulties,  but  when  he 
"  applied  to  him  these  were  either  set  aside  or  expedients  suggested  to 
"  remove  them.  It  is  easier  to  bend  the  head  like  Alexander  or  Boscawen 
"  than  to  imitate  their  courage  or  intrepidity." 

(Portrait  engraved  by  Ravenet  from  original  painting.) 

3.  LIEUT. -CoL.  JOHN  WINSLOW-  p.  44. 

Native  of  New  England,  son  of  Isaac  Winslow,  of  Marshfleld,  Mass., 
great-grandson  of  Edward  Winslow,  one  of  the  first  Plymouth  settlers- 


Description  of  Illustrations.  159 

Captain  of  the  Provincials  in  the  important  expedition  to  Cuba  in  1740. 
Afterwards  an  officer  in  the  English  Army  and  a  Major-General  of  the 
Militia.  Commander  of  Provincial  troops  in  the  expeditions  to  the  Kenne- 
bec  and  Crown  Point,  and  was  selected  by  Governor  Shirley  to  command  the 
troops  raised  in  Massachusetts  for  service  in  Nova  Scotia  in  17£5.  Col-  Wins- 
low  served  under  General  (then  Colonel)  Monckton  at  the  capture  of  the 
Forts  Beausejour  and  Baie-Verte,  or  Gaspereaux,  and  was  in  command  of 
the  most  important  and  populous  station  at  Grand  Pre"  for  the  expulsion  of 
the  Acadians  (age  52),  Monckton  being  the  Commander  in  Chief  of  the  forces 
engaged  in  the  deportation.  Was  a  councillor  of  Massachusetts,  and  so 
great  was  his  popularity,  says  Minot,  that  he  raised  for  the  expedition  under 
Monckton  2,000  men  in  the  short  space  of  two  months.  He  served  in  several 
other  engagements  of  the  war,  and  died  in  1774,  aged  71.  He  left  two  sons, 
Pelham  and  Isaac,  both  attached  to  the  Royal  cause  in  the  American 
Revolt.  He  was  remarkable  for  his  urbanity  of  manner,  kind  heartiness  and 
genial  qualities;  characteristics  inconsonant  with  the  accusations  of 
inhumanity  and  cruelty  some  writers  of  the  present  day  endeavor  to  load  him 
with. 
(From  the  original  portrait  in  Massachusetts  Historical  Society.) 

4.  EXPULSION  MEDAL.  p.  49. 

5.  FAC-SIMILE  FROM  MEDAILLES  Louis  LE  GRAND.  p.  50. 

The  medal  is  from  an  original  issued  to  commemorate  the  expulsion  of  the 
English  from  St.  Kitts  in  1666.  The  page  is  from  the  large  volume  entitled 
"  Mddailles  sur  les  principaux  evenements  du  Regne  de  Louis  le  Grand  avec 
"  des  explications  historiques  par  1'Academie  Royale  des  Medailles  et  des 
"  Inscriptions.  A  Paris  de  I'Imprimerie  Royal,  1702." 

The  translation  of  the  text  is  :  Ihe  English  Expelled  from  the  Island  of  St. 
Christopher.  The  Island  of  St-  Christopher,  abundant  in  sugar,  tobacco  and 
other  merchandise,  is  one  of  the  Antilles  group,  situated  in  the  Ocean  of 
South  America.  The  French  and  English,  both  together,  took  possession  in 
1626,  and  to  avoid  conflict  they  divided  the  island  equally  between  them. 
Each  one  enjoyed  peaceably  their  half,  when  the  war  of  England  and  France 
in  Europe  spread  to  America  and  caused  the  colonies  to  arise.  The  English 
Governor,  who  was  the  first  to  learn  of  the  rupture  between  the  two  Crowns, 
wished  to  avail  himself  of  it,  and  prepared  to  surprise  the  French.  But 


160  Description  of  Illustrations. 

these,  warned  of  his  designs  by  his  preparations  and  movements,  dared,  though 
inferior  in  number,  to  prevent  him,  and  immediately  attacked  several  of 
the  English  posts  and  expelled  the  people.  They  were  not  discouraged  even 
by  the  death  of  their  commander,  who  was  killed  in  the  second  attack.  They 
pursued  their  enterprise  just  as  happily  as  they  began,  forcing  their  enemies 
to  surrender  their  forts,  their  cannon  and  their  arms  by  capitulation,  until 
they  became  alone  possessors  of  an  island  so  important  to  the  commerce  of 
the  West  Indies.  This  is  the  subject  of  the  above  medal.  We  see  an  Ameri 
can  squaw,  having  at  her  feet  a  shield  with  the  arms  of  England,  and  holding 
up  a  shield  with  the  arms  of  France.  Legend,  Colonia  Francorum  Stabilita, 
The  French  Colony  Made  Firm.  In  exergue  Anglis  ex  Insula  Sancti  Chris- 
tophore  exturbatis,  1666.  The  English  Expelled  from  the  Island  of  Saint 
Christopher,  1666. 
(This  French  version  of  the  expulsion  differs  materially  from  the  English.) 

6.    LA  MARQUISE  DE  POMPADOUB.  p.  65. 

Jeanne  Antoinette  Poisson,  daughter  of  a  butcher  of  the  Invalides,  or,  ac 
cording  to  others  a  farmer  of  Forte"  sous  Jouare,  who  was  condemned  of 
malversations  and  ran  away.  Born  in  1722,  she  received  a  liberal  education 
from  her  mother ;  she  was  married  to  Mr.  Lenormand  L'Etioles,  nephew  of 
the  Farmer  General  Normand  Tourneham.  While  hunting  in  the  forest  of 
Senart,  on  the  borders  of  which  Tourneham  held  an  estate,  the  King  had  an 
opportunity  purposely  afforded  him  of  seeing  Madame  d'Etioles,  with  whose 
charms  he  was  immediately  enamored.  Removing  her  to  his  Palace,  she 
was  created  Marchioness  of  Pompadour  in  1745,  and  retained  a  complete  as 
cendancy  over  the  heart  of  the  King,  being  placed  at  the  head  of  his  Court, 
(to  the  sacrifice  of  the  Queen,  with  one  short  interval)  until  her  death,  in 
1764.  She  amassed  enormous  wealth,  but  spent  it  also  lavishly  in  entertain 
ments  for  the  King's  amusements.  Politically  her  power  was  of  the  greatest, 
and  for  many  years  all  important  appointments,  especially  during  the  Seven 
Years  War,  were  obtained  only  through  her  hands.  She  was  clever,  bright  in 
conversation,  handsome,  and  one  of  the  greatest  bibliophilists  France  has 
had,  her  collection  of  books  being  carefully  bound  and  of  the  best  editions, 
command  great  prices  when  offered  for  sale.  Wolfe  in  his  letter  to  his  father 
from  Paris,  of  10th  January,  1753,  states :  "  I  was  introduced  yesterday  to  the 
"  King  and  the  Royal  family,  and  lastly  to  Madame  Pompadour  and  M.  de 


Description  of  Illustrations.  161 

"  St.  Contest,  the  minister.  They  were  all  very  gracious  as  far  as  courtesies, 
"  bows  and  smiles  go,  for  the  Bourbons  seldom  speak  to  anybody.  Madame 
"la  Marquise  entertained  us  at  her  toilette.  We  found  her  curling  her 
"  hair.  She  is  extremely  handsome,  and,  by  her  conversation  with  the  Am- 
"  bassador  and  others  that  were  present,  I  judge  she  must  have  a  good  deal 
"  of  wit  and  understanding."  (It  was  the  custom  of  Pompadour  to  receive 
visitors  in  her  dressing-room,  in  which  there  was  no  seat  except  her  own. 
It  was  only  when  the  King  entered  that  she  ordered  a  chair  for  His  Ma 
jesty.)  On  the  26th  October,  1752,  Wolfe  dined  with  her,  and  remarks,  in  a 
letter  to  his  mother,  that  "  Madame  Pompadour  is  a  very  agreeable  woman.  I 
"  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  placed  near  her  for  a  considerable  time."  In 
January,  1753,  la  Marquise  was  raised  to  the  tabouret,  with  the  rank  and  pre 
rogatives  oi  Duchesse,  became  qualified  to  be  seated  in  the  Queen's  presence, 
to  be  called  ''  Cousin  "  and  receive  the  Royal  kiss. 
(The  portrait  is  from  that  of  "  La  Socie'te'  des  Bibliophiles  de  France.") 

7.     LlEUT.-GENERAL  MARQUIS  OF  MONTCALM.  p.   67. 

Louis  Joseph  de  Saint  Ve'ran,  born  in  1712  at  Candiac  Languedoc,  of  a 
family  of  Rouergue,  one  of  whose  ancestors  married  into  the  Gozon  family, 
of  whom  tradition  says  vanquished  the  Dragon  which  desolated  the  Island  of 
Rhodes-  Montcalm  early  entered  the  army  and  served  17  years  as  ensign, 
lieutenant  and  captain  in  the  regiment  of  Hainault,  and  was  made  Colonel  of 
Auxerrois  Regiment  in  1743.  He  received  three  wounds  at  the  battle  under 
Plaisance,  the  3rd  June,  1746,  and  two  others  at  Assiette.  Made  Brigadier  of 
the  King's  Armies  in  1747,  and  Mestre  du  Camp  (Cavalry  Captain)  of  the  new 
Regiment  of  Cavalry  called  after  him,  in  1749.  In  1756  he  was  created  Field 
Marshal  and  Commander  in  Chief  of  the  French  troops  in  America.  For 
the  victory  at  Carillon,  8th  July,  '758,  he  was  created  Lieut.-General.  His 
titles  were :  Marquis  de  Montcalm,  Seigneur  de  Gozon  et  de  Gabriac,  Com 
mander  of  the  Order  of  St.  Louis.  His  arms  are  quartered  with  those  of  Gozon 
and  Gabriac.  He  was  short  in  stature,  but  with  a  handsome  face  and  figure 
and  very  animated  piercing  eyes.  An  Indian  chief  on  first  seeing  him  could 
not  believe  that  so  small  a  man  could  be  the  hero  of  so  many  victories,  but 
observed  that  "he  saw  the  vivacity  of  the  eagle  in  his  eye  and  the  greatness  of 
the  oak."  Like  Wolfe,  he  was  an  able  general,  a  zealous  patriot,  a  staunch 
friend,  and  a  father  to  all.  He  was  beloved  and  respected  by  all  his  soldiers 
11 


1 62  Description  of  Illustrations. 

and  officers,  and  most  upright  in  all  his  dealings.  Mortally  wounded  while 
on  horseback  endeavoring  to  prevent  the  flight  of  his  army  at  the  Plains  of 
Abraham,  he  was  removed  to  the  General  Hospital  and  died  the  next  morn 
ing,  14th  September,  1759,  at  4  o'clock,  aged  47  years,  and  was  buried  in  the 
Ursuline  Convent  in  Quebec.  He  left  a  wife,  five  children  (two  boys  and 
three  girls)  and  his  mother  to  deplore  his  loss,  to  whom  the  King  continued 
a  pension  of  4,000  livres,  and  to  each  of  his  children  900.  The  eldest  son  was 
given  the  regiment  of  his  father,  and  the  other  son  a  company  in  the  same 
regiment. 

(The  portrait  given  is  from  a  private  photograph  taken  directly  from  the 
original  painting  in  the  possession  of  the  present  Marquis  of  Montcalm,  who 
presented  it  personally  to  L.  A.  Hubert,  Esq.,  the  eminent  Canadian  sculptor 
of  this  city,  and  to  whom  he  inscribed  it ;  "  Offert  a  Monsieur  Hubert  en 
"  temoignage  d'amitie*  et  de  sympathie. — Mis.  de  Montcalm."  Reproduced 
by  kind  permission  of  Mr.  Hubert,  and  it  is  the  first  time  that  this  faithful 
and  excellent  likeness  has  been  presented  to  the  public  in  foe-simile  of  the 
original  painting.) 

3.    COLONEL  BOUGAINVILLE,  A.D.C.  p.  96. 

Louis  Antoine  de  Bougainville  was  born  llth  November,  1729,  at  Paris. 
Studied  and  was  admitted  to  the  law,  but  left  it  to  enter  the  army.  He  en 
tered  the  Black  Musqueteer  Regiment-  Studying  languages  and  mathe 
matics,  he  published  in  1752  a  work  on  mathematics.  He  was  made  Brevet- 
Major  in  the  battalion  of  Picardie,  Aide-de-Camp  to  the  famous  Chevert  at 
Sarre  Louis  in  1754,  and  was  sent  to  London  as  secretary  to  the  Embassy  in 
1755,  where  he  joined  the  Royal  Society  of  that  city.  The  same  year  he 
was  made  Aide-de-Camp  to  the  Marquis  of  Montcalm  and  Captain  of 
Dragoons,  and  left  for  Canada  on  the  27th  September,  1756.  Promoted  to 
Colonel  in  1759  and  created  Knight  of  St.  Louis,  his  recognized  talents  and 
ability  brought  him  to  the  fore  of  de  Bourlemaque,  the  second  in  command 
of  the  French  Army  in  America.  After  the  surrender  of  the  colony  he  re 
turned  to  France  and  served  at  the  Battle  of  the  Rhine  in  1761  with  dis 
tinction.  After  the  peace  he  entered  the  marine  service,  and  founded  the 
Faulkland  Islands,  subsequently  making  a  tour  of  the  world,  he  discovered 
and  placed  under  French  sovereignty  several  important  islands  in  the 
Pacific.  He  returned  to  France  on  the  14th  March,  1769,  and  published  an 


Description  of  Illustrations.  163 

account  of  his  voyages.  Took  part  in  the  American  Revolution,  where  he 
commanded  with  distinction  several  vessels  of  the  line.  He  was  created  an 
admiral  and  a  field  marshal.  After  forty  years  of  service,  Bougainville  re 
tired  and  devoted  himself  to  science.  In  1796  he  was  made  a  member  of  the 
French  Institute,  Count  of  the  Empire,  a  Senator  of  France  and  Grand 
officer  of  the  Legion  of  Honour.  He  died,  aged  82,  on  the  31st  August,  1811. 
(The  portrait  is  from  an  engraving  from  a  painting  of  about  the  period  he 
was  in  Canada.) 

9.  QUEBEC  IN  1759.  p.  97. 

View  of  the  City  taken  from  the  Island  of  Orleans,  and  the  man-of-war 
Vanguard,  by  Captain  Hervey  Smith,  Aide-de-camp  to  Gen.  Wolfe,  from 
the  original  engraving  of  the  5th  Nov.,  1760. 

10.  MAJOR  GENERAL  JAMES  WOLFE.  p.  99. 

Originally  a  Welsh  family,  the  Woulf es  settled  in  Ireland  in  the  16th  cen 
tury,  and  became  in  time  more  "  Irish  than  the  Irish."  On  the  capitula 
tion  of  Limerick  in  October,  1651,  to  Ireton,  the  Parliamentarian  chief, 
twenty  of  the  most  distinguished  of  its  defenders  were  excepted  from 
pardon  and  reserved  for  execution.  Among  these  were  two  brothers,  George 
and  Francis  Woulf e — the  former  a  military  officer,  the  latter  a  friar-  The 
friar  was  hanged,  but  the  captain  made  his  escape.  He  fled  to  England 
(Yorkshire)  where  he  settled  and  adopted  the  reformed  faith  and 
dropped  the  "  u "  from  the  name.  In  1685  a  son  was  born  and  named 
Edward,  the  father  of  our  hero ;  he  married  Henrietta,  daughter  of 
Edward  Thompson,  Esq.,  of  Marsden,  in  Yorkshire,  who  was  descended  on 
her  mother's  side  from  the  ancient  family  of  Tindal  at  Brotherton,  in  York 
shire.  The  father  adopted  the  army  as  his  profession,  and  at  the  age  of  32 
reached  the  grade  of  Lieutenant -Colonel,  without  family  influence  or 
political  interest ;  solely  the  result  of  merit-  On  the  2nd  January,  1727  (n.s.), 
or  the  22nd  December,  1726  (o-s.),  our  hero,  James,  was  born  at  the  vicarage 
in  Westerham,  Kent,  the  father  being  42  years  of  age  and  the  mother  24. 
Soon  afterwards  they  quitted  the  vicarage,  which  had  been  leased  temporarily, 
and  removed  to  the  building  named  in  the  early  part  of  the  present 
century  "  Quebec  House,"  situated  in  a  hollow  picturesquely  at  the  foot 
of  a  hill  down  which  winds  the  eastern  outlet  of  Westerham,  leading  to 


164  Description  of  Illustrations. 

Brastead  and  Sevenoaks.  Here  under  the  watchful  eye  and  careful 
training  of  their  mother,  passed  the  childhood  of  James  and  his  younger 
brother  Edward,  born  in  the  following  year.  They  were  both  delicate,  sensi 
tive  children,  whose  precarious  health  caused  their  mother  many  an  anx 
ious  hour.  About  1738,  the  family  removed  to  Greenwich,  which,  in  addition 
to  his  fathers's  exploits  as  a  soldier  under  Marlborough,  only  increased  his 
desire  to  enter  army  life  at  the  earliest  opportunity.  To  the  neglect  of  his 
schooling,  he  joined  the  forces  at  the  tender  age  of  13  years  and  6  months,  as 
volunteer  in  his  father's  regiment.  Already  a  martyr  to  illness,  just  as  the 
fleet  was  sailing  with  his  regiment  he  had  to  be  put  ashore,  seriously  ill,  and 
returned  to  his  mother-  On  the  3rd  November,  1741  (age  14),  he  was  ap 
pointed  Second  Lieutenant  in  his  father's  regiment  of  marines,  the 
12th  Regiment  (Duroure's),  and  in  April,  1742,  embarked  with  his 
regiment  for  Flanders.  His  first  fire  was  received  at  the  celebrated  battle  of 
Dettingen,  where  King  George  the  Second  and  the  Duke  of  Cumber 
land  commanded  personally  an  army  of  40,000  men,  defeating  the  Duke 
de  Noailles  with  60,000  French  soldiers.  In  1743  (aged  16),  he  was  made 
Lieutenant  and  an  adjutant ;  1744,  Captain  in  the  Fourth  (Barrel's)  or  King's 
Regiment  of  Foot.  In  October,  his  brother  Edward,  who  had  joined  the  army 
to  be  in  company  with  James,  whom  he  idolized,  died  after  a  few  days'  illness 
from  consumption. 

1745,  he   was  made  Major  of  B.igade,   and  took  part  in  the  battle  of 
Fontenoy,  llth  May,  1745. 

1746.  Was  present  with  his  regiment  at  the  battle  of  Falkirk  in  Scotland, 
on  the  17th  January,  and  three  months  after  was  aide-de-camp  to  General 
Hawley   at  the  battle  of  Culloden.    Wolfe  was  here  requested  by  his  com- 
mander-in-chief,  the    Duke   of    Cumberland,    to    shoot  "that   Highland 
"  scoundrel  who  dares  to  look  upon  us  with  so  insolent  a  stare,"  alluding  to 
the  Colonel  of  the  Fraser  Regiment,  to  which  Wolfe   indignantly  replied 
"  that  his  commission  was  at  His  Royal  Highness's  disposal,  but  that  he  never 
"would  consent  to  become  an  executioner."    Was  it  this  incident  which 
caused  the  Fraser  Regiment  to  cling  so  affectionately  to  Wolfe  in  after  years 
and  were  the  first  to  volunteer  to  scale  the  dizzy  heights  of  Quebec  both  at 
Montmorenci  and  Wolfe's  Cove ! 

1747-    On  the  2nd  July,  Barrel's  regiment  having  returned  to  the  Conti 
nent,  and  with  it  Wolfe  was  present  at  the  battle  of  Val  or  Laffeldt,  at 


Description  of  Illustrations.  165 

which  the  forces  were  commanded  by  King  Louis  XV.  personally  and  the 
Marshall  Saxe  on  the  French  side  ;  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  and  Sir  John 
Ligonier  (who  was  captured)  on  the  English  side .  Wolfe  here  distinguished 
himself,  the  Official  Gazette  stating  that  he  was  wounded,  and  was  publicly 
thanked  by  the  commander-in-chief  for  his  distinguished  services. 

1748,  after  the  Peace,  he  returned  to  Scotland  with  his  regiment. 

1749.  Was  made  a  Major  of  the  20th  Regiment  on  the  5th  January,  and  re 
turned   home  from    service   in   seven   active  campaigns  at  age    22.     Re 
called  to  join  his  regiment,  which  was  stationed  at  Stirling,  he  assumed 
command,  the  Lieutenant-Colonel,  the  Hon.  Edward  Cornwallis  having  been 
appointed  Captain-General  and  Governor  of  the  new  settlement  of  Halifax  in 
Nova  Scotia.    On  the  20th  March,  1750,  he  was  officially  appointed  Lieut.  - 
Colonel  of  the  regiment.    He  served  in  Scotland  and  England  until  1758.    On 
furlough,   he   visited   Paris   to   learn  the   French   language,  in  which  he 
became  quite  proficient. 

1755,  he  published  his  "  Instructions  for  the  guidance  of  the  20th  Foot 
"  should  the  French  effect  a  landing,"  the  best  drilled  regiment  in  the  British 
army,  so  pronounced  by  the  commander-in-chief.  It  is  an  admirable  paper, 
clear,  pithy  and  comprehensive  Published  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  for 
1759,  pp.  529-530. 

1757.  Distinguished  himself  at  Rochfort,  which  brought  him  prominently  to 
the  notice  of  Pitt,  and  which  was  the  direct  cause  of  his  selection  for  American 
service. 

1758.  Wolfe,  while  at  Louisbourg  siege,  received  instruction  through  the 
Gazette,  that  he  had  been  promoted  to  the  Colonelcy  of  the  second  battalion 
of  the  20th,  now  named  the  67th  Regiment  (South  Hampshire  Foot)  on  the 
21st  April.    Prior  to  this,  on  the  23rd  January,  1758,  he  was  commissioned  as 
Brigadier-General  for  service  in  America  only. 

1759-  His  Father,  who  had  become  Colonel  of  the  8th  Regiment  and  Lieut.- 
General,  died  on  the  26th  March,  1759,  aged  74,  and  the  Son  fell  at  Quebec, 
13th  Sept.,  aged  32  years,  8  months.  His  Mother  died,  aged  60,  on  the  26th 
Sept..  1764. 

Of  a  very  feeble  constitution,  in  fact  consumptive,  Wolfe  never  enjoyed 
health  such  as  a  man  in  his  position  required.  Had  nature  ordained  other- 


1 66  Description  of  Illustrations. 

wise,  his  character  was  such  that  only  Alexander  the  Great  would  have  been 
his  counterpart  in  history.  In  temperament  he  was  sanguine,  in  disposition 
docile  and  magnanimous,  in  figure  manly,  bronzed  and  rugged  by  innumer 
able  campaigns,  prematurely  old,  tall  and  slim  (lanky,  he  states).  Wright,  in 
his  Life  of  Wolfe,  summarises  his  character  as  follows  :  "  He  was  impulsive, 
but  not  rash  ;  persistent  but  not  obstinate ;  self-confident  yet  modest ; 
aspiring  but  not  .vain-glorious  ;  generous,  hospitable  and  charitable,  but  not 
extravagant ;  stern  yet  gentle ;  ingenuous  but  not  egotistic ;  free  spoken  yet 
courteous.  If  ever  high  honour,  strict  integrity  and  all  the  qualities  which 
constitute  a  dutiful  and  affectionate  son  (his  letters  to  his  parents,  written 
alternately  almost  weekly  throughout  his  life,  are  models  of  affection),  a  true 
and  constant  lover,  a  sincere  friend,  a  loyal  subject,  and  a  pure  patriot,  were 
combined  with  fearless  valour,  untiring  industry  and  great  mental  capacity, 
they  were  combined  in  JAMES  WOLFE." 

The  portrait  presented  of  Wolfe  is  the  very  rare  mezzotint  by  C.  Spooner, 
after  the  sketch  by  Capt.  Hervey  Smith,  his  aide-de-camp,  and  to  whom 
we  are  also  indebted  for  a  series  of  views  (two  of  which  I  reproduce),  done  by 
him  during  the  campaign  of  1759.  Both  portrait  and  views  were  engraved  in 
1760,  the  former  from  a  direct  sketch  made  of  Wolfe  while  at  Quebec,  and 
therefore  the  latest  portrait  of  him  and  the  most  interesting  to  us.  Acknowl 
edging  his  views  to  be  accurale  and  carefully  drawn,  we  must  accept  this 
portrait  of  Wolfe  as  an  equally  truthful  and  correct  likeness,  however  much 
it  may  differ  from  the  innumerable  variety  of  face  and  form  in  engravings 
we  are  presented  of  him.  Wolfe's  biographers  and  family  connections 
acknowledge  but  two  authentic  oil  paintings  and  Smith's  sketch ;  the  one  by 
Highmore  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery,  done  at  age  22,  the  other  by  an 
unknown  artist,  taken  at  age  13,  in  the  possession  of  Admiral  Warde ;  Smith's 
sketch  being  in  the  United  Service  Museum.  There  is  another  less  known 
portrait  of  him,  from  a  sketch  by  Engineer  John  Montresor,  taken  at  Quebec 
on  the  1st  Sept.,  1759,  and  which  has  been  mezzotinted  and  published  July 
30, 1783,  by  B.  Killingbeck,  London.  It  is  a  profile,  and  said  to  be  an  excellent 
likeness.  It  is  excessively  rare,  and  the  original  sketch  has  disappeared. 
The  well-known  full  length  mezzo  of  Wolfe,  at  the  landing  of  his  troops  at 
Quebec,  by  Houston,  done  in  1760,  while  presenting  the  characteristics  in  face 
and  form,  is  not  an  authentic  production  and  is  too  fanciful  or  sentimental 
to  be  accepted  as  a  portrait,  while  the  dress,  accoutrements  and  attitude 
condemn  it. 


Description  of  Illustrations.  167 

His  appearance,  as  described  by  Wright,  or  in  his  letters  printed  by  Wright, 
corresponds  closely  with  the  portrait  I  hare  selected.  "Although  the  most 
"  partial  admirer  could  not  have  considered  him  by  any  means  a  handsome 
"  youth,  yet  his  countenance  was  so  expressive  of  an  ingenuous,  hopeful  spirit 
"as  to  make  it  remarkably  attractive.  The  most  striking  lineament)  how- 
"  ever  ,was  the  singular  form  of  his  profile,  which  might  be  nearly  represented 
"'  by  two  lines  of  an  obtuse  angle,  meeting  at  the  tip  of  the  nose.  (Wolfe's 
"  profile  bears  a  remarkable  resemblance  to  that  of  the  younger  Pitt,  as  may  be 
"  perceived  by  comparing  his  portrait  by  Highmore  with  the  bust  of  this 
"  statesman  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery.)  When  in  repose,  his  face  had 
"  little  colour,  but  when  excited,  it  blushed  all  over ;  and  the  somewhat  high 
"  and  prominent  cheek-bones  betrayed  the  share  of  Celtic  blood  he  inherited. 
"  The  mouth  denoted  great  decision  and  firmness,  while  the  leading  expres- 
"  sion  of  the  sparkling  azure  eyes  might  be  most  truly  qualified  as  enquir- 
"  ing.  His  complexion  was  sanguine,  hair  red,  over  which  he  wore  the  pow- 
"  dered  wig."  In  form,  Wolfe  says  to  his  Mother.  "  It  is  not  easy  to 
"  describe  myself  in  my  present  state.  If  I  say  I'm  thinner,  you'll  imagine 
"  me  a  shadow  or  a  skeleton  in  motion.  In  short,  I'm  everything  but  what 
"  the  surgeons  call  a  subject  for  anatomy ;  as  far  as  muscles,  bones,  and 
"  the  larger  vessels  can  serve  their  purpose,  they  have  a  clear  view  of  them 

"  in  me,  distinct  from  fat  or  fleshy  impediment" "  upon  which  I  may 

"  extend  my  long  limbs  " "with  the  advantage  of  long  legs  and 

"  thighs  "    "  very  tall  and  thin."    In  a  letter  to  his  Mother,  from 

Bristol,  of  the  19th  January,  1755,  he  says  :  "  Folks  are  surprised  to  see  the 
"  meagre,  consumptive,  decaying  figure  of  the  son,  when  the  father  and 
"  mother  preserve  such  good  looks ;  and  people  are  not  easily  persuaded 
"  that  I  am  one  of  the  family."— (Strange  to  say,  both  his  parents 
were  handsome,  especially  the  Mother,  who  was  considered  a 
beauty.)— "  The  campaigns  of  1743-4-5-6  and  7,  stripped  me  of  my 
"  bloom,  and  the  winters  of  Scotland  and  at  Dover  have  brought  me 
"  almost  to  old  age  and  infirmity,  and  this  without  any  remarkable  intemper- 
"  ance.  A  few  years  more  or  less,  are  of  very  little  consequence  to  the  common 
"  run  of  men,  and  therefore  I  need  not  lament  that  I  am,  perhaps,  some- 
"  what  nearer  my  end  than  others  of  my  time.  I  think  and  write  upon  these 
"  points  without  being  at  all  moved." 

In  manners  fascinating,  in  dress   plain,  hating  coxcombery    or  foppish 
ness;   in    habits   steady,  temperate   almost  abstemious,  with  a  passionate 


1 68  Description  of  Illustrations. 

love  for  outdoor  sports,  such  as  hunting,  shooting,  riding  and  fishing;  he 
neither  gambled,  swore,  nor  scoffed  at  religion  and  morality  as  was  then  the 
vogue  in  the  best  society.  In  short,  he  was  a  man  without  enemies,  except 
those  envious  of  his  good  qualities,  intelligence  and  habits,  and  such  a  one 
as  is  born  to  command,  for  "all  were  swift  to  follow  whom  all  loved." 

11.    VICE-ADMIRAL  SIR  CHARLES  SAFNDEKS.  p.  99. 

Was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  officers  of  his  time  and  arrived  at  the 
highest  rank  in  his  profession.  Lieutenant  of  the  Centurion  in  1740.  Com 
mander  of  the  Ingall  in  Anson's  expedition  in  1741.  In  command  of  the  Yar 
mouth,  of  64  guns,  he  captured  the  Neptune  and  Monarque,  two  74 -gun 
vessels,  in  an  engagement  under  Eear- Admiral  Hawke,  in  October.  1747.  In 
1750  he  was  elected  M.P.  for  Plymouth,  and  married  the  only  child  of  James 
Buck,  a  banker  in  London,  but  left  no  issue.  In  1750  he  was  appointed  Com 
modore  and  Commander-in-chief  at  Newfoundland.  In  December,  1755,  he 
was  named  Comptroller  of  the  Navy,  and  one  of  the  elder  brethren  of  the 
Trinity  House.  In  1756  he  was  created  Rear- Admiral  of  the  Blue,  and  in  1758 
he  was  made  R.  A.  of  the  White,  and  then  Vice-Admiral  of  the  Blue.  He 
was  appointed  Commander-in-chief  of  the  American  fleet  in  February,  1759, 
as  Vice-Admiral  of  the  Blue.  In  1761  he  received  the  insignia  of  the  Bath, 
and  died  Admiral  of  the  Blue  in  1775.  His  remains  were  privately  interred  in 
Westminster  Abbey,  near  Wolfe's  monument.  Admiral  Saunders,  before 
ascending  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  navigation  of  which  was  unknown  to  English 
vessels,  selected,  on  the  advice  of  Capt.  Hugh  Palliser,  the  celebrated 
Navigator  James  Cook,  then  occupying  a  very  humble  position  in  the 
fleet,  to  survey  the  channel-  Had  the  public  services  of  Admiral  Saunders 
been  confined  solely  to  the  opportunity  which  he  here  afforded  this  great  man 
of  displaying  his  wonderful  talents,  he  had  conferred  a  benefit  on  his  country 
and  race  that  would  have  merited  their  everlasting  gratitude-  On  his  arrival 
home  from  Quebec,  before  landing,  he  turned  his  fleet  back  to  sea,  without 
orders,  to  assist  Admiral  Hawke  to  capture  a  French  fleet  under  Con- 
flars.  He  was,  however,  too  late.  On  his  return,  he  happened 
accidentally  to  drop  in  at  the  theatre  in  Dublin,  where  he  was  re 
ceived,  much  to  his  surprise,  with  the  highest  demonstrations  of 
applause  for  his  victory  at  Quebec-  His  reception  in  London  by 
the  King  and  people  was-  in  the  highest  degree  flattering  to  him.  He 


Trouvaille. 

The  London  (England)  Times,  Saturday,  4th  February,  1888,  prints  the  fol 
lowing  communication  :— 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Times. 

SIR,— A  letter  in  the  Times  of  yesterday,  signed  W.  Starke,  on  the  subject 
of  the  death  of  General  Wolfe,  quotes  an  account  stated  to  have  been  given 
by  Lieutenant  the  lion.  Henry  Browne  (oay  great  grand-uncle),  who  was 
present  on  the  occasion,  to  a  Capt.  Knox. 

I  now  send  you  an  extract  from  a  letter  written  on  November  17, 1759,  by 
the  said  Lieut.  Browne  to  h's   father,  giving  a  somewhat  more  detailed 
account,  which,  possibly,  you  may  consider  sufficiently  interesting  to  publish. 
Yours  obediently, 

ROBT.  J.  BROWNE. 

COOLARNR,  GLKNAGEARY,  KINGSTOWN,  COUNTY  DUBLIN, 
DUBLIN,  January  26. 

Extract  from  a  letter  from  Henry  Browne,  fifth  son  of  John  Browne,  M.P. 
for  Castlebar,  who  subsequently  became  Earl  of  Altamont  ; 

LOUISBOURG,  Nov.  17, 1759. 

I  writ  you  a  letter  the  19th  of  Sept.,  and  another  to  my  Bro. 

Peter  the  1st  of  Oct. ,  both,  which  letters  I  hope  have  arrived  safe. 

I  gave  you,  Dr.  Father,  as  distinct  an  account  in  yours  as  I  could  of  our 
action  of  the  13th  Sept.,  and  of  the  taking  of  the  Town  of  Quebeck.  I  must 
add  a  little  to  it  by  informing  you  that  I  was  the  person  who  carried  General 
Wolf  off  the  field,  and  that  he  was  wounded  as  he  stood  within  a  foot  of  me. 
I  thanked  God  I  escaped,  tho'  we  had  (out  of  our  company,  which  consisted 
but  of  62  men  at  the  beginning  of  the  engagement)  an  officer  and  four  men 
killed  and  25  wounded- 

The  General  did  our  company  the  honour  to  head  us  in  person,  as  he  said  he 
knew  he  could  depend  upon  our  behaviour,  and  I  think  we  fully  answered  his 
expectations,  as  did,  indeed,  the  whole  front  line,  consisting  at  most  but  of 
2500  men,  by  beating  according  to  their  own  account  8000  men,  2500  of  which 
vfere  regulars.  Our  second  line,  consisting  of  1500  men,  did  not  engage  or  fire 
a  shot.  The  poor  General,  after  [  had  his  wounds  dressed,  died  in  my  arms. 
Before  he  died  he  thanked  me  for  my  care  of  him,  and  asked  me  whether  we 
had  totally  defeated  the  enemy.  Upon  my  assuring  him  we  had  killed  num 
bers,  taken  a  number  of  officers  and  men  prisoners,  he  thanked  God  and  then 
begged  I  would  then  let  him  die  in  peace.  He  expired  in  a  minute  after 
wards,  without  the  least  struggle  or  groan.  You  can't  imagine,  dear  father, 
the  sorrow  of  every  individual  in  the  army  for  so  great  a  loss.  Even  the 


soldiers  dropped  tears,  who  were  but  the  minute  before  driving  their  bayonets 
through  the  French.  I  can't  compare  it  to  anything  better  than  to  a  family 
in  tears  and  sorrow  which  had  just  lost  their  father,  their  friend,  and  their 
whole  dependance- 

Your  truly  and  most  dutiful  and  affectionate  son, 

HEN.  BROWNE. 
John  Browne,  Esq.,  at  Westport,  near  Castlebar,  Ireland. 

Knox's  Historical  Journal,  1769,  Vol.  II,  p.  79,  states:  After  our  late 
worthy  General,  of  renowned  memory,  was  carried  off  wounded  to  the  rear  of 
the  front  line,  he  desired  those  who  were  about  him  to  lay  him  down  ;  being 
asked  if  he  would  have  a  surgeon  ?  "A  surgeon  ?"  he  replied,  "  it  is  need 
less  ;  it  is  all  over  with  me."  One  of  them  then  cried  out,  "  They  run !  see 
how  they  run !"  "  Who  runs  ?"  demanded  our  hero  with  great  earnestness, 
like  a  person  roused  from  sleep.  The  officer  answered,  "The  enemy,  Sir. 
Egad  they  give  way  everywhere."  Thereupon  the  General  rejoined,  "  Go, 
one  of  you,  my  lad-s,  to  Colonel  Burton ;  tell  him  to  march  Webb's  regiment 
with  all  speed  to  Charles's  River,  to  cut  off  the  retreat  of  the  fugitives  from  the 
bridge."  Then,  turning  on  his  side,  he  added,  "  Now  God  be  praised.  1  will 
die  in  peace  I"  and  thus  expired. 

After  writing  the  above,  Knox  adds  in  a  foot-note  to  page  79 :  "  Various 
accounts  have  been  circulated  of  General  Wolfe's  manner  of  dying,  his  last 
words,  and  the  officers  into  whose  hands  he  fell ;  and  many,  from  a  vanity  of 
talking,  claimed  the  honour  of  being  his  supporters  after  he  was  wounded, 
but  the  foregoing  circumstances  were  ascertained  to  me  by  Lieut.  Browne,  of 
the  Grenadiers  of  Louisbourg,  and  the  Twenty-second  Regiment,  who,  with 
Mr.  Henderson,  a  volunteer  in  the  same  company  and  a  private  man,  were 
the  three  persons  who  carried  his  Excellency  to  the  rear;  which  an  Artil 
lery  Officer  seeing,  immediately  flew  to  his  assistance ;  and  these  were  all 
that  attended  him  in  his  dying  moments.  /  do  not  recollect  the  Artillery 
Officer's  name,  or  it  should  be  cheerfully  recorded  here, 

(The  General  received  three  wounds  before  he  suc 
cumbed — one  in  the  wrist,  the  second  in  the  head,  and  the 
third  in  the  abdomen.  The  above  letter  has  appeared  since 
this  work  was  in  type.  I  deem  it  sufficiently  important  to 
add  it  as  a  "  trouvaille,"  inasmuch  as  it  confirms  in  a  re 
markable  manner  the  conclusion  given  by  me  in  the  nar 
rative  as  to  the  number  engaged  in  the  battle,  as  well  as 
further  showing  the  reliance  to  be  placed  on  Knox's  valu 
able  Historical  Journal  of  the  Siege.  G.  E.  H.) 


Description  of  Illustrations.  169 

was  rewarded  for  his  victory  by  being  named,  unsolicited,  Lieut.-General 
of  the  Marines  and  being  tendered  in  person  the  thanks  of  the  House  of  Com 
mons.  Sir  Charles  was  in  1765  made  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty  over  the 
heads  of  many  officers  his  superior  in  rank — a  further  testimony  of  his  great 
worth  and  the  high  opinion  held  of  him.  In  the  funeral  procession  of  the 
Duke  of  York,  the  King's  brother,  in  1767,  he  was  one  of  the  admirals  who 
supported  the  canopy.  Of  an  unassuming,  retiring  character,  greatness 
unsolicited  was  his  by  transcendent  merit.  He  was,  moreover,  a  Privy 
Councillor  and  Treasurer  of  the  Greenwich  Hospital.  "Wolfe  bequeathed  his 
plate  to  Saunders. 
(From  a  proof  engraving  by  Shipster  of  the  painting  in  Greenwich  Hospital.) 

12.  BATTLE  OF  MONTMOEENCI,  1759.  p.  103. 

Another  of  the  views  taken  by  Captain  Hervey  Smith,  aide-de-camp  to 
Wolfe,  at  the  time  of  the  engagement.  From  an  original  engraving  made 
in  London,  1760. 

13.  THE  HON.  BRIGADIER-GENERAL  ROBERT  MONCKTON.  p.  104. 

Second  son  of  Viscount  Galway.  Was  at  the  battle  of  Dettingen  and  others 
of  the  Flanders  engagements.  In  1753  was  at  Halifax  and  was  sent  to  sup 
press  the  riots  which  took  place  that  year  among  the  Germans  at  Lunenburg- 
In  1754  was  appointed  Governor  of  the  fort  at  Annapolis  Royal.  In  June, 
1755,  he  commanded  at  the  reduction  of  Fort  Beausejour  and  the  expulsion 
of  the  Acadians.  In  1756  he  was  named  Lieut. -Governor  of  Nova  Scotia 
under  Charles  Lawrence  as  Governor.  In  1757  he  obtained  the  appointment  of 
Lt.-Col.  of  the  4th  Batt.,  60th  Regt.,  called  Royal  Americans,  and  was  at 
tached  to  the  army  of  Lord  Loudoun.  In  1758  he  commanded  a  battalion  at 
the  siege  of  Louisbourg,  under  Gen.  Amherst,  and  in  1759  he  served  as  1st 
Brigadier-General  under  Wolfe  at  Quebec,  where  he  received  a  ball  through 
the  lungs.  He  was  promoted  to  the  Colonelcy  of  the  17th  Regiment  of  Foot. 
In  1761  he  was  brevetted  a  Major  General  and  appointed  Governor  of 
New  York.  In  1761  he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  troops 
against  Martinico,  which  he  captured.  He  returned  to  his  Government  and 
thence  to  England.  Soon  after  his  return  home,  he  was  tried  by  court  martial 
on  charges  of  oppression  preferred  against  him  by  a  Major  Campbell,  but  of 
which  he  was  honorably  acquitted.  He  received  the  military  appointment  of 


1 70  Description  of  Illustrations. 

Governor  of  Berwick  in  1766,  and  was  made  Lieut.-General  in  1770.    In  1778 
he  was  Governor  of  Portsmouth,  and  represented  that  borough  in  Parliament 
until  his  death  on  the  3rd  May,  1782.    Wolfe  bequeathed  his  camp  equipage 
to  Monckton,  for  whom  he  had  the  greatest  esteem  and  regard. 
(Portrait  from  an  original  mezzotint  of  1761.) 

14.  QUEBEC  AFTER  THE  BOMBARDMENT,  1759.  p.  113. 

From  a  view  taken  by  Richard  Short,  aide-de-camp  to  Admiral  Saunders, 
and  published  in  1760. 

15.  THE  HON.  BRIGADIER  GENERAL  GEORGE  TOWNSHEND.  p.  114. 

Eldest  son  of  the  third  Viscount  Townshend,  and  afterwards  first  Marquess 
of  the  name.  Born  1724,  and  was  godson  to  King  George  I.  He  entered  the 
army  at  an  early  age  and  served  throughout  the  Flanders  campaign  with 
Wolfe  and  Monckton.  He  was  Second  Brigadier  General  in  Wolfe's  expedi 
tion  to  Quebec.  He  afterwards  attained  the  rank  of  Field  Marshal  and 
Colonel  of  the  second  regiment  of  Dragoon  Guards ;  was  also  a  Privy  Coun 
cillor,  High  Steward  of  Tamworth,  Yarmouth  and  Norwich,  Governor  of 
Jersey,  and  Master-General  of  the  Ordnance.  He  also  administered  the  gov 
ernment  of  Ireland  as  Lord  Lieutenant  in  1767.  He  married  twice,  firstly  in 
1751,  Lady  Charlotte  Compton,  only  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Northampton  and 
Baroness  Ferrers,  by  whom  his  escutcheon  was  emblazoned  by  over  two  hun 
dred  and  fifty  quarterings,  including  that  of  the  royal  Plantagenets  and  two 
very  ancient  Baronies  ;  secondly,  in  1773,  Anne,  co-heir  of  Sir  William  Mont 
gomery,  Bart.  He  died  on  the  14th  September,  1807.  He  was  brave, 
talented,  but  impatient  of  authority,  and  excelled  in  caricaturing.  Wolfe 
tolerated,  but  had  no  personal  friendship  for  him.  He  found  him  Q,malcontent 
at  Quebec.  Townshend  owed  his  preferment  to  his  great  family  influence, 
his  brother  Charles  being  a  Minister  of  State. 

(Portrait  is  from  a  mezzotint  made  in  1758,  immediately  after  he  introduced 
his  famous  Militia  Bill  in  the  House  of  Commons,  a  copy  of  which  he  is  hold 
ing  in  his  hands.) 

16.  CAPTAIN  HUGH  PALLISER,  R.N.  p.  115. 

Post  Captain  in  1746.  Was  in  command  of  the  Shrewsbury  74  guns  at 
Quebec ;  age,  38.  Comptroller  of  the  Navy,  Admiral,  and  a  Baronet  in  1773. 


Description  of  Illustrations.  1 7 1 

March  31,  1764,  Governor  of  Newfoundland.  Serving  as  second  in  command 
under  Admiral  Keppel  at  Ushant  in  1778 ;  a  misunderstanding  arose  between 
them,  and  Sir  Hugh  preferred  a  charge  against  Admiral  Keppel,  who  was 
acquitted.  Sir  Hugh  was  then  tried  in  his  turn  and  reprimanded.  He  was, 
however,  a  brave  and  experienced  officer,  and  became  Governor  of  Greenwich 
Hospital.  Born  1721,  died  1796. 
(Portrait  from  an  engraving  made  in  1796.) 

17.    WOLFE'S  MONUMENT,  WESTMINSTER  ABBEY.  p.  137. 

On  the  21st  November,  1759,  the  House  of  Commons  resolved  to  address  the 
King  that  His  Majesty  would  order  a  monument  to  be  erected  in  Westmins 
ter  Abbey  to  the  memory  of  Wolfe.  The  King  named  the  Duke  of  Devon 
shire  as  chairman  of  the  committee  to  take  the  matter  in  hand.  Wilton's 
design  was  chosen.  The  sculpture  was  not  finished  until  1772,  and  on  the  4th 
October,  1772,  the  national  monument  was  uncovered.  It  stands  near  the 
north  transept  of  the  Abbey  Church,  and  occupies  a  large  space  in  St.  John 
the  Evangelist's  Chapel,  facing  the  ambulatory.  It  is  chiefly  composed  of 
white  marble,  and  consists  of  an  elevated  base  and  sarcophagus,  which  is 
inscribed : — 

To  the  Memory  of 

JAMES     WOLFE, 

Major-General  and  Commander-in-Chief 

Of  the  British  Land  Forces 

On  an  expedition  against  Quebec, 

Who,  after  surmounting  by  ability  and  valour 

All  obstacles  of  art  and  nature, 

Was  slain,  in  the  moment  of  victory, 

On   the  XIII.    of  September,   MDCCLIX., 

The   King  and    Parliament   of   Great  Britain 

Dedicate  this  Monument. 
(From  an  engraving  of  the  period.) 


172  Description  of  Illustrations. 

18.  THE  HON.  BRIGADIER-GENERAL  JAMES  MURRAY.  p.  138. 

Fifth  son  of  the  fourth  Baron  Elibank  (a  Scotch  peer).  His  great-grandfather 
was  one  of  the  six  Peers  who  opposed  the  delivering  up  of  Charles  I.  to  the 
Parliament  of  England.  Was  throughout  the  Flanders  engagements.  Was 
present  at  the  siege  of  Louisbourg,  in  which  he  attracted  the  attention  of 
Wolfe,  who  selected  him  as  his  third  Brigadier  at  Quebec.  He  was  left  in  com 
mand  of  the  city  after  its  capitulation,  and  was  appointed  first  Governor 
thereof,  and  after  the  treaty  of  Peace  was  named  Governor-General  and  mili 
tary  commander  of  Canada.  In  1760,  he  was  defeated  in  an  engagement  with 
Levis,  and  subsequently  joined  Amherst  at  Montreal  when  the  Province  sur 
rendered  to  the  British  arms.  In  1767  he  returned  to  England  on  leave  of 
absence,  but  receiving  a  better  appointment,  he  did  not  return  to  Canada.  In 
1781  he  was  in  command  of  the  Island  of  Minorca,  besieged  by  an  army  of  12,000 
Spanish  and  French  troops  under  the  Duke  de  Crillon,  which  he  successfully 
resisted  for  seven  months,  with  an  army  of  under  2,000  men .  They  becoming 
decimated  by  disease,  he  surrendered  under  most  honorable  terms,  largely 
obtained  by  his  becoming  conduct  in  indignantly  refusing  an  offer  made  to 
him  by  De  Crillon  of  a  surrender  on  payment  to  him  of  a  million  francs  and  a 
French  peerage.  General  Murray's  career  in  Canada  was  distinguished  by  a 
sterling  sense  of  honor  and  justice  to  the  conquered  natives,  and  enjoining  to 
them  their  full  immunities  and  privileges  by  the  terms  of  the  conquest,  a 
right  which  some  of  the  incoming  British  immigrants  desired  to  deprive  them 
of.  General  Murray  was  much  regretted  by  the  whole  population,  and 
notably  the  clergy.  He  became  a  Lieut.-General.  Born  1704 ;  married  twice, 
having  no  issue  by  his  first  wife,  but  by  his  second  wife  (at  age  of  78)  a  son, 
who  became  a  Major  General ;  died  1794,  aged  90  years. 

(The  portrait  is  from  a  stipple  engraving  of  1782,  the  year  in  which  his  son 
was  born.) 

19.  CHEVALIER  DE  LEVIS.  p.  140. 

Francois  Gaston  de  Levis,  Seigneur  de  Mirepoix,  de  Leran,  de  Charlus,  de 
Chateaumorand ;  was  born  at  Ajac,  in  Languedoc,  on  the  20th  August,  1719 . 
He  was  a  member  of  the  great  historic  family  of  which  the  Dukes  d'Uzez 
were  the  lineal  descendants,  and  de  Ventadour  and  Marquis  Mirepoix  the 
collateral  branches.  They  were  the  first  family  elevated  to  the  Peerage  of 
France  and  honored  with  the  title  of  Duke.  The  Mirepoix  branch,  of  which 


Description  of  Illustrations.  1 73 

the  Chevalier  was  direct  inheritor,  had  the  honorary  and  distinguished  title 
of  "Marshall  of  the  Faith,"  for  having  fought  successfully  the  hereti 
cal  Albigenses-  The  name,  until  1689,  was  spelt  "  de  Levy."  His 
ancestor,  Henry  de  Levy,  Duke  de  Ventadour,  in  1625,  was  Viceroy  of 
Canada,  under  whose  administration  Champlain  was  sent  as  Governor  to  the 
colony.  He  entered  the  French  army  in  1735,  his  first  commission  being  a 
lieutenant  in  a  marine  regiment ;  1737,  was  made  Captain  ;  1756,  Colonel  and 
Brigadier  ;  1758,  Mare"chal  de  Camp  ;  1761,  Lieutenant-General ;  1783,  Field 
Marshal.  He  was  popularly  known  in  his  military  career  as  the  Chevalier  de 
Levis,  and  always  was  addressed  as  such.  He  was  appointed  second  in  com 
mand  to  Montcalm,  whose  friendship  for  him  from  infancy  was  no  doubt 
occasioned  by  their  coming  from  the  same  province.  His  campaigns  in 
Canada,  1756-1760,  are  fully  mentioned  herein.  Abroad  he  saw  service  in 
Bohemia  in  1741-42,  and  was  at  the  battle  of  Dettingen  in  1743,  opposed  to 
Wolfe,  Amherst,  Monckton,  Townshend  and  Murray,  as  he  was  afterwards  in 
Canada.  He  was  throughout  all  the  campaigns  of  1743  to  1746  in  Flanders, 
and  afterwards  saw  service  in  Italy,  Provence  and  Nice,  and  distinguished 
himself  at  Montalban-  After  his  return  from  Canada,  he  was  one  of  the 
very  few  officers  on  the  French  side  for  whom  England  and  France  both  had 
the  greatest  respect.  A  striking  mark  of  England's  favor  was  shown  by  his 
surrender  as  a  prisoner  being  limited  to  service  in  America,  it  being  specially 
granted  that  he  could  participate  on  his  nation's  side  in  Europe.  Hence  we 
see  him  taking  part  in  the  battles  of  Villinghausen  and  Johannisberg.  He 
was  liberally  rewarded  by  France  for  his  services,  and  in  1784  we  find 
his  titles  to  be:  Francois  de  LeVis,  Due  et  Mare"ehal  de  France, 
Chevalier  des  Ordres  du  Roy  et  des  Ordres  Royaume  Militaires  et  Hospitallers 
de  Notre  Dame  du  Mont  Carmel  et  de  St.  Lazare  de  Jerusalem,  Grand  Bailli 
d'Epe'e  de  Villers  la  Montagne,  Capitaine  des  Gardes  du  corps  de  Monsieur 
FrereduRoy,  Gouverneur-Ge'ne'ral  de  la  Province  d'Artois,  et  Gouverneur 
Particulier  des  villes,  cite"  et  citadelle  d' Arras,  with  emoluments  of  97,470 
livres  a  year.  He  died  in  1787. 

MAJOR  GENERAL  JEFPERY  AMHERST.  p.  143. 

Was  born  at  Sevenoaks,  1717,  of  an  ancient  Kentish  family.    He  began 

life  as  Page  to  the  Duke  of  Dorset,  aad  entered  the  army  in  1731,  and  in  1741 

was  Aide-de-camp  to  General  Ligonier,  under  whom  he  served  at  the  battles 


1 74  Description  of  Illustrations. 

of  Dettingen,  Fontenoy  and  Rocoux,  and  on  the  staff  of  the  Duke  of 
Cumberland  at  the  Battles  of  Lafieldt  and  Hastenbeck.  In  1756  he  was 
appointed  Colonel  of  the  15th  Regiment  of  foot,  and  in  1758  was  made 
Major-General  and  sent  to  America,  his  career  being  fully  mentioned  herein- 
Having  received  the  capitulation  of  all  Canada  at  the  surrender  of  Montreal, 
he  returned  to  New  York,  where  he  was  invested  with  the  insignia  of  the 
Bath  as  a  special  reward  and  honor,  also  receiving  the  thanks  of  the  House  of 
Commons  in  England.  He  was  further  created  a  Privy  Councillor,  and  a 
Lieut.-General.  In  1763  he  returned  to  England,  was  appointed  Governor 
of  Virginia,  a  sinecure  position,  subsequently  of  Guernsey.  In  1776  was 
created  Baron  Amherst  of  Holmsdale,  and  in  1788  Baron  Amherstof  Montreal, 
adopting  as  supporters  to  his  arms,  two  Indians  in  full  battle  array,  the 
sinister  holding  a  tomahawk  suspended  to  which  is  a  human  scalp !  Recog 
nizing  that  he  owed  this  high  honor  to  a  nation's  gratitude  for  his  services  in 
Canada,  he  named  his  seat  "  Montreal  House."  In  1778  he  was  made 
commander-in-chief  of  the  army  in  England.  In  1795  he  was  created  a  Field 
Marshal,  and  died  in  1797, 

He  died  without  issue,  though  twice  married,  and  was  succeeded  by  his 
nephew,  William  Pitt  Amherst,  son  of  Colonel  William  Amherst  his  brother, 
and  aide-de-camp  at  Louisbourg.  He  was  a  man  of  indomitable  perseverance 
and  courage,  but  slow  and  methodical  in  his  movements.  Provident,  con 
ciliating  and  cool,  Amherst  disposed  his  plans,  adopted  his  measures,  recon 
ciled  jarring  interests,  and  pursued  his  operations  with  steadiness,  neither 
precipitating  nor  delaying  beyond  the  due  point,  and  comprehending  the 
whole  under  a  due  authority  which  he  knew  how  to  assume.  ( Walpole's 
Memoirs,  vol.  ii.,  p.  439.) 

(The  portrait  given  is  a  mezzotint  by  the  celebrated  James  Watson,  after 
a  painting  by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  and  was  made  circa  1763.) 

21.    MONTREAL  IN  1760.  p.  147. 

Is  from  a  very  rare  engraving,  drawn  on  the  spot  immediately  after  the 
Conquest,  by  Thomas  Patten. 

The  large  building  to  the  far  left,  on  the  point,  is  the  General  Hospital, 
about  the  site  of  the  present  building  of  the  Examining  Warehouse ; 
coming  to  the  right,  the  first  steeple  is  that  of  the  Recollet  Church,  the  ves 
sel  dividing  these  two.  The  next  steeple  is  that  of  the  St.  Sulpice  Church, 


Description  of  Illustrations.  175 

just  in  front  of  the  present  Notre  Dame  Church.  The  old  Congrega 
tional  Convent  is  shown  by  the  blank  wall,  pointed  roof  and  small  steeple  in 
about  the  centre  of  the  town.  The  large  building  with  steeple,  to  the  further 
right,  is  the  Jesuits'  Church,  about  the  site  of  the  present  Court  House  and 
fronting  on  Notre  Dame  Street,  the  Fort  being  on  the  elevation  at  the  extreme 
right  or  eastern  end  of  the  city,  known  at  present  as  Dalhousie  Square.  The 
city  was  comprised  within  the  fortifications— a  stone  wall  12  ft.  x  4  ft.,  finished 
in  1728,  having  a  ditch  on  all  sides.  It  appeared  to  run  along  Commissioners 
Street  and  Foundling  on  the  front ;  St.  James  Street  on  the  rear ;  McGill 
Street  on  the  west,  and  Campeau  Street  on  the  east. 

22.   BRIGADIER  GENERAL  THOMAS  GAGE.  p.  151. 

Was  second  son  of  the  first  and  father  of  the  third  Viscount  Gage 
of  Ireland.  Was  in  Braddock's  defeat,  as  Lieutenant-Colonel  command 
ing  the  advance  guard,  at  Carillon  with  Abercromby  ;  was  subsequently  ap 
pointed  Brigadier  General,  Light  Infantry.  Was  sent  by  Amherst  to  succeed 
Prideaux  after  his  death  at  the  siege  of  Niagara,  but  before  reaching  there, 
the  Fort  surrendered  to  Sir  Wm.  Johnson.  He  was  with  Amherst,  second  in 
command,  on  his  descent  to  Montreal.  Upon  the  surrender  of  the  town  he 
was  left  in  charge  as  Governor,  and  in  1763  was  appointed  Com 
mander-in-chief  of  the  British  forces  in  North  America,  in  succession  to 
Amherst.  In  1774,  he  was  appointed  Governor  (the  last)  of  Massachusetts,  in 
which  office  his  loyalist  tendencies  made  him  very  obnoxious  to  the  people, 
and  the  following  year  the  Provincial  Congress  disqualified  him  from  serving 
as  Governor.  In  October,  1775,  he  returned  to  England.  In  1782  he  was 
made  Colonel  of  the  17th  Light  Dragoons,  and  November  he  was  created  a 
General.  He  married,  in  1758,  Margaiet,  daughter  of  Peter  Kemble,  Presi 
dent  of  the  Council  of  New  Jersey,  who  survived  him  until  9th  February, 
1824,  aged  90  years.  They  had  three  sons,  one  of  whom,  the  third 
Viscount  and  inheritor  of  the  titles  of  this  very  ancient  and  great 
family,  was  born  in  Montreal  on  the  4th  of  March,  1761.  He  pos 
sessed  a  naturally  amiable  disposition  (which  made  him  much  re 
spected  and  beloved  in  Montreal  as  Governor),  and  his  benevolence 
often  outweighed  his  justice  in  the  scale  of  duty.  As  commander  of  the 
forces  he  was  a  failure,  and  a  good  deal  of  the  rise  of  the  American  Revolu 
tion  is  attributable  to  his  actions.  He  died  in  England,  April,  1787. 


V 


